Screeching Sirens
by aledagio
Summary: Captain Arthur Kirkland thought he saw it all on the sea, that is, until he met a certain bumbling merman. The life of a pirate has never been quite so challenging... Rated T mainly for language.
1. Chapter 1

Captain Arthur Kirkland in his ten years on the sea had known, felt, and experienced many things.

He knew what it was like to felt the salty wind at his back, how it would snap the sails like a whip

He knew the smell of burning wood and the sweet satisfaction of watching an enemy ship sink into the depths.

He knew the rhythm of his ship, the dance it made on the waves.

He knew the slick sound of a blade passing through flesh and the resistance of bone and tissue.

He knew the sound of crushing bones as a lead ball hits a human body head on.

Most of all, he knew pain. The impact and second of nothingness before the overwhelming sensation of a bullet lodging itself beneath skin. The bite of twenty lashes, the seemingly never-ending agony and the marks it made on his skin that never quite went away.

He knew of true thirst and hunger. How the tongue would shrivel and stick to the paper insides of the mouth. When a mere sip of water became like priceless ambrosia that men would kill over. The hollow feeling he got inside and the gnaw of the stomach digesting itself and the sheer nausea of starvation. And food was made out of the most disgusting and unspeakable of things.

Yet with all of that experience of suffering and pain nothing, nothing measured up to the torture of the sound he was hearing on that sunny, windy day.

At first he had thought some damned sea creature was dying, crying out as its life was slowly being torn from it. But after a few moments it became apparent that the wail had some sort of sick and twisted rhythm and some semblance of words. After figuring that much out it took Arthur another blasted minute to figure out that the horrid sound was some wanker's idea of a song. By that time the whole crew was screaming out, "Dear God, just make it stop!" covering their ears in an attempt to block the shrieks.

Migraine pounding his temples Arthur called out, "Where's that blasted noise coming from?"

"Over there Captain!" a sailor pointed to the port side as he held onto one ear.

Arthur ran, brandishing a gun. Under his breath he swore to kill the source of the hellish wails. He reached the side and leaned over along with the crew members who could move and possessed a gun. Arthur's ears and eyes searched the wavy blue sea and pinpointed a dirty blonde head.

The gun was instantly aimed and cocked, "I'm giving ya one second to shut your mouth before I blow your head off ya damned scum!" Never mind he was a man overboard, he was about to just put this man out of his misery.

The singer thankfully stopped but unfortunately started a laugh that was almost as bad, "Ha ha ha! You got a problem with my singing, Captain?"

"That infernal screeching could hardly be called 'singing'."

"Aw, are you sure? I sang it just for you~" sang the man.

There was the crack of a gunshot and the man in the water ducked just in time before a bullet shot right where his head was and into the water. "The next shot is in your head if you sing one more word. Now tell me scum who are you?" Arthur said, pulling out another gun and cocking it.

"Alfred!" said the man and Arthur could see his smile from the distance he was standing, "What's your name?"

"Captain Arthur Kirkland. Now Alfred, if you do not get up here on this here ship in thirty seconds you'll know just how crushing the bottom of the deep can be."

"I can go on your ship Artie? Sweeeet. Will I get to sail with you?"

"It's Captain Arthur to ya scum. And you will get up here so I can personally give you fifty lashes, punishment for your screeches. If you can still stand after that I'll consider having you as a cabin boy savvy?" Arthur smirked at the mental image of that smile getting wiped off the lad's face.

To his irritation the blonde man's grin only increased in its intensity, "As fun as all of that sounds I think I'll stick to singing."

"Very well then, men blow the man down!" at the command the whole crew eagerly fired at the obnoxious man.

Said man's laughs were cut off as he dove underwater. A minute passed and Arthur order his men to ceasefire (couldn't have them use too much ammunition) and scanned the water. He looked at the blue liquid expecting for a patch of red to bloom or for an oxygen deprived head to pop out. Another minute passed and Arthur began to get increasingly irritated and reloaded his gun.

Right when he was going to turn away and call him drowned there came another obnoxious laugh from the other side of the ship, "Over here!"

Arthur ran over to the other side and shot his gun as soon as he saw the man. Again the teen ducked under the water and appeared in seconds, "Well, it was nice to finally meet you Artie. I'll be sure to visit tomorrow!" and with that he dove back in the water and to Arthur and his crew's immense surprise flashed a large fish tail.

"Blimey!"

"That couldn't be…a siren?" a crewmember by him, Willy muttered.

Siren? He had heard the stories as had any other sailor or pirate of the fish-tailed women who lured men to their deaths with their beautiful bodies and singing. Arthur was pretty sure the thing was male and his voice could not possibly be considered decent. And the beautiful body? Arthur didn't see more than a tail and a head. Whatever it was hopefully it was gone for good.

Arthur looked around at the chatty crew, "What are ye pansies doing? Get back to work!"

**USUKUSUK**

Much to Arthur and the whole crew's dismay Alfred was back the day after. And the day after that. And the day after that. And the day after that. It became routine for there to suddenly be a screeching noise from nothingness that Arthur almost became used to it. Not to say he wasn't extremely irritated not to mention the bullet and gunpowder supply had been decreasing at an alarming rate.

No matter the weather Alfred stopped by. Even when the waves were as big as the ship and the wind howling and the lightening dangerously close a voice rose above the rain and thunder. And the worst thing: Arthur could make out the words.

"Oh your green eyes! Like glowing algae!"

Arthur would have shot the git if his hands were not preoccupied with holding onto the helm and steering through the tempest.

"Your dull hair is like the dying seaweed!" The voice cracked and so did Arthur's patience.

"Someone shoot that bastard!" he yelled over the raging weather. But everyone was hanging on the ship with their life as the waves pounded the ship and water swamped the deck and tugged the pirates to the sea. And the song went on…

The tune had changed, "Artie! If you fall I will catch you and we'll-," oh God he could not listen anymore.

"Toris," he yelled, "Kill that beast!"

"A-aye, aye Captain!" the brunette youth nervously made his way to the side of the ship the voice was coming from. After a few slips and near tumbles he finally made it to the edge. Cautiously Toris reached for his gun but just as his fingers touched the wood of the ship's rail a giant wave crashed on that side of the ship. One second all Arthur could see was white water, the next just an empty spot where Toris had stood.

"Man overboard!" Arthur yelled cursing under his breath. The crew that could help ran to help but as they looked down at the churning waters there was no man to save. In the back of his mind Arthur realized that in some twisted way the siren had done what it had intended to do, taken a sailor with its voice.

The singing had stopped.

And so starts my first ever written USUK piece. I've been wanting to post it here for awhile but I just couldn't figure out how to use this site ^^' I hope you guys like it, I promise it gets better as it goes along.

Btw I had this idea for a looong time and I thought for awhile it was going to be original but sure enough, while I was into the fifth chapter or so a merman!America and pirate!England came out. Oh well. It was pretty awesome though, I would highly recommend it and another I came across; unfortunately I forgot what they are called but if you PM me I'll send a link. With that said if there happens to be things in this fic that are similar to those in others please just ignore them, I really didn't copy anyone they are just coincidences and this is a totally different story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. Nothing at all really.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Three days had passed with no sign of Alfred. As happy as that should have made Arthur, he couldn't help but to feel saddened. Though he was known to be the "heartless pirate demon" of the seven seas Arthur couldn't stand losing any of his men. Toris was one of the better crewmates and unlike many of them was good-hearted. He was forced into Arthur's service yet remained loyal to the end. Yes, Arthur would miss the bloke.

The day was bright and the air still. With no wind to fill their sails they were unable to move from their spot without moving manually. He didn't quite like using manpower but there were ships to take and ports to occupy. But just as he was about to command for them to get the oars out, he heard it. A song, complex and exotic, floated across the water. Gasps were heard across the ship. The sound was angelic, the heavens a place more fitting for it. There was only one voice, faint yet traveling so clearly, so incredibly beautiful Arthur wondered if he was hallucinating. Everyone stopped what they were doing to focus solely on listening and to prevent making any noise.

Arthur scanned the ocean for the source and his eyes came upon a cluster of rocks jutting from the water. As if the very heavens encouraged them, the wind picked up, blowing in the direction of the reef.

"Hard to port!" he shouted. The men scrambled over themselves to get to the ropes. The sails were hoisted in record time and Arthur enthusiastically turned the wheel in the direction of the voice..

As they got closer his eyes began to make out a figure sitting on the rocks. Golden curly locks glistened in the sunlight and all of the men leaned forward to see what was making such blessed music. A man, Arthur thought at first but quickly corrected himself as he saw the creature's torso and the deep red fish tail that flicked up much like that of a cat. His attention, however, was quickly diverted to the siren's mouth as it spewed jewels of music. Someone jumped, unnoticed, into the water. Arthur unknowingly walked slowly to the edge along with the crew that hadn't already jumped. The siren continued to sing, his blue eyes glinting arrogantly with his first catch.

Suddenly the music stopped.

Arthur nearly cried out in indignation. The siren, whose tail was so unceremoniously yanked cursed, "Merde!" he looked down at who had rudely interrupted him, "What? Matthieu! How could you?" he hissed in French.

The violet eyed merman gave an uncharacteristically hard look, "You know Al has claimed that ship already. You don't _want_ to get him angry would you?"

The French-merman waved it off, "If he wants his little appetizer so badly he would be sitting here instead of moi," he turned back to the ship but it was too late, the spell was already broken.

Captain Arthur, the moment of entrancement passed, looked down to see that he had one foot out of the ship, about to jump. He hastily stepped back and spotted at the cause of the chaos. Again he turned his eyes to the merman but this time he saw something completely different. He saw a stubbly chin and hairy arms and chest and a haughty air. And as the merman spoke it became apparent, to Arthur's immense disgust, that this thing was…French. Arthur's stomach twisted. To think he was attracted to that frog.

Then Arthur noticed there was another by the water by the red-tailed merman. Alfred? No, this one was different. He had longer, curled-at-the-ends hair, and violet eyes that spoke of a calmer disposition.

Arthur shook his head, looking away, and pulled out his pistol. Aiming at the sky he fired, startling the rest of the crew who turned to Arthur, "Hoist the main sails! What are ye? A bucket of gasping fish? Get back to work!"

He didn't spare a backwards glance at the merfolk, instead barking orders at zoned-off crewmembers. It was unhealthy to be around such creatures for too long. He shivered at the memory of the powerful magic, now he could understand why sirens were so feared.

For the first time he was thankful for Alfred's screeching.

**USUKUSUK**

"Captain! Anybody!"

Arthur was woken from his dreams by the sound of a familiar voice. "Help! Somebody!" His drowsy mind slowly pinned a face to the voice. Could it be? No, it had been seven days ago.

Arthur swung his legs out of the bed, looking out the circular window; it was still dark out. He glanced at his clock. Damn, what an ungodly hour. Tugging on a robe he made his way to the poop deck, pushing through the men scrambling to get something to fish the man overboard.

"Help!"yelled the unmistakably accented voice.

"Toris?" Arthur shouted as he spotted the young man's bobbing head out in the sea. How was this even possible? Not wasting another second, Arthur shouted orders to his men and within minutes Toris was hoisted gasping onto the ship. The crew pressed around the poor boy asking him all sorts of questions.

With a few commands Arthur made the men back off and he stepped up to Toris. "C-captain," Toris said with a sigh of relief, "Thank you sir."

"Welcome back to the Black Britannia, lad. What happened to you?"

Toris gave a nervous grimance, "I-I'm sorry. I can't say."

Arthur frowned, noticing the boy's sideway's glances. Seven days he had been worrying over this boy and now he was here, refusing to speak a word of his disappearing act. For a moment he contemplated forcing the lad to talk but he discarded the thought at Toris' shaken appearance. It was probably for the best to let Toris relax and then confront him someday alone.

Arthur sighed and turned to the crew, "Get him some blankets and water and take him below deck. Those of you who are standing around go find something better to do or you'll be gettin' acquainted with the Cat O'Nine tails."

The men ran back to their jobs. Arthur looked out into the dark waters. There was nothing to see but his eyes made out shapes in the black liquid. They were not real but Arthur knew the monsters were in there, hiding in the deep.

**USUKUSUK**

When Alfred returned that morning Arthur knew the siren had something to do with Toris. The merman's strident voice rang throughout the ship but the Captain didn't even order anyone to shoot him. After the ship's previous encounter with the red-tailed siren Alfred's singing was relatively harmless.

So the Captain, steadfastly ignoring the blonde, focused on the salty wind and gleaming blue sea. After all it was a beautiful day and there weren't any signs of bad weather or enemy ships and annoying mermen weren't even worth paying attention to.

After singing for thirty minutes and not getting a response out of Arthur, Alfred realized that he was being ignored (or Arthur had gone deaf). He stopped his serenading and Arthur hid a relieved expression, "No shootin today Artie?"

Maintaining an emotionless face Arthur shook his head, "Nay."

"Aw, didja miss me?"

"Hell no," Arthur said quickly, his face breaking into a small frown.

Alfred laughed and lay back on the water. Arthur could see just how long his blue tail was. "Just admit it Cap'n, absence makes the heart grow fonder."

How could he get under his skin so easily? Arthur pushed down the urge to shoot the creature, "So why were you absent for a week? Would it have anything to do with Toris?"

Alfred grinned and winked, "Where would the fun be if I told you?"

Arthur shrugged, "Fine, don't tell. Not like I cared. Though one of your kind _did_ visit while you were off doing whatever tomfoolery you are so determined to keep secret," he said nonchalantly.

The merman's smile faltered for a moment and he leaned forward out of his relaxing position, "What?"

"Oh, you know, a rather obnoxious and flamboyant fellow with a red tail. Tell me, how does it feel to be the worst singer in the world as a siren?"

"Psh, yeah right. You just feel jealous of my inhuman ability at singing," Alfred smiled but his eyes that kept glancing down at the water betrayed the uncaring look. "Hey, um, I gotta take care of some things, see you tomorrow okay?"

Arthur waved him away impassively, "Whatever."

Alfred wasted no time, barley making a splash as he dove back into the water.

The Captain smirked, feeling a small sense of victory.

**AN: And here's the second chapter. To be honest I don't really like this one :/ I'll post another chapter soon to make up for it. **

**Thank you so much for your reviews and follows from the last chapter! I haven't been able to reply to any of them because I've been so busy but I'll be sure to reply to any for this chapter. PLEASE review. I treasure everything you guys say and to be honest some of those reviews make me feel like it was worth it to write this and make my entire day.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or any other references in all of my stories.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Arthur got his answers from Toris two days later when there was a soft knock on the door of his quarters, "Captain, sir? May I come in?"

"Yes, Toris. Step in," the Captain called as he studied his navigational charts. About time, he was just about to confront Toris about his disappearance himself.

Toris walked in, shutting the door gently behind him, looking as fidgety as ever. Arthur continued to study the paper waiting for the man to speak. A minute passed and Arthur realized the lad was too nervous to do so. With a soft sigh he lifted his head and removed his reading spectacles, "Is there something you'd like to tell me Toris?" he asked, his tone unusually kind.

"Well, Captain," Toris shifted his balance from foot to foot, "It's about the week I was gone."

Arthur folded his hands together, "Yes?"

The young man's tongue tied again, "I-I'm sorry it's just…he told me not to say anything…"

"Who, Toris?" Arthur asked kindly.

"Mr. Jones, sir."

"Mr. Jones?" Arthur did not recognize the name.

"Mr. Alfred Jones, the merman," Toris sighed and suddenly the words were spilling out, "You see, that day when I went overboard, dragged into the sea, Mr. Alfred saved me. But instead of helping me back onto the ship he took me to this undersea cave."

"An undersea cave? For seven days? Why the hell did he do that for?"

Toris blushed to Arthur's surprise, "N-nothing really…Just as a reward for saving my life he asked me a few things and…" Toris coughed, "H-he's a real nice person Captain! He even said that he doesn't eat humans and wants to be a hero," Toris smiled at the memory.

Arthur frowned, "What did he ask of you Toris?"

The brunette looked back down again, "I'm sorry Captain, Mr. Alfred told me not to say and I owe him my life."

Sigh, "And the eating humans part? I don't suppose _Mr_. _Alfred_ elaborated on that particular subject, hmm?"

"Mr. Alfred told me that most sirens use their voice to attract sailors into the water then they drown their prey and eat them. But Mr. Alfred's not like that!" Toris said quickly, "He wants to save and protect humans! His brother too."

"And he does that by screaming his lungs out?" Arthur rolled his eyes, "Really, Toris, stop being so naïve. That thing kidnapped you for seven days! How can you be sure he wasn't lying to you?"

"He wasn't the type who would lie, sir."

Arthur sighed again, "If that's all you have to say then Toris you may leave now," he waved his hand and returned to his notes.

Toris smiled, "If you don't mind me saying Captain I think you should be a little less harsh. Alfred really does like you." Then he turned and left, leaving Arthur realize with great embarrassment just what Toris was talking about much later in the night.

**USUKUSK**

"Great, this day is just keeps getting better," Arthur muttered over the siren's singing. He lowered the eyeglass and looked on at the approaching ship with his naked eyes. Just what he needed, the British navy. They were already low on supplies and ammunition and the naval ship made no sign of stopping in its pursuit of the _Black_ _Britannia_.

"Ready the cannons!" he shouted. The eyeglass was tossed to the side to the first mate and the flamboyant hat that the captain always wore was adjusted to a more comfortable position on his head. Time for battle, Arthur thought as he pulled out and checked his cutlass for rust.

The screeching stopped, "You're going to fight, Artie?"

Arthur grit his teeth at the voice, "Yes, now would leave so we may concentrate?" he barked orders to the crew.

The merman frowned and swam beside the ship, following Arthur as he strode around the ship, "Does that mean you're gonna hurt them?"

"Aye. We're pirates, Alfred. We kill, we pillage, we rape. We aren't some of your everyday whalers or fishermen." The more he thought about it the more eager he became. He hadn't had a good fight in awhile, it was about time he spilt some blood.

Alfred didn't quite like the smirk that grew on Arthur's face, "As the hero I can't allow you to do that."

"Oh _really_? And how will you stop me? I'm already immune to your enchanted singing siren," Arthur laughed.

Arthur ignored the merman as it dove back into the water, instead watching the ominous gray sky and dark blue ship heading directly for them. He was about to give additional orders when he heard the most excruciating sound a captain could hear: Crack! The sound of snapping wood filled Arthur's ears and he felt genuine pain in his. "What the bloody hell was that?" he yelled, eyes obsessively searching the ship. To make it worse, from the corner of his eyes he could see fog gathering.

"It's the rudder, Captain! Something's broken it off!" yelled a panicky pirate as he pointed behind the ship.

"WHAT?" Arthur roared and walked over with powerful, angry steps. He reached over to the backside of the ship and looked over; sure enough there was spiky, pale wood, the last remnants of the rudder. Damn, They were sitting ducks to the approaching ship. And there could only be one reason why, "ALFRED! That damn merman, he just had to do it, he had just had to make the great Captain Arthur Kirkland crack. His head snapped up, twisting to see some fishtailed freak he could shoot at.

Instead he found that side of the sea covered in a thick blanket fog. At least the heavens were with him, if they were lucky the navy would get lost. "Toris, Hary," he called out to the two crewmembers, "Get to work on the rudder. If I can't steer by tomorrow I'm skinning you both." The two hurriedly went to work.

"Riley," he called, "Come here!"

Said man nervously ran over to the captain. Riley's mind quickly went through everything he had done in the past week that could possibly make him get called out. "Y-yes, Cap'n."

Thankfully the blonde didn't seem particularly unhappy with Riley, casting his angry glances at the sea. The distracted captain pulled him to the side and whispered to him quietly, "Riley I need you and five or so men to get to work on making a wooden box big enough to hold a full-grown merman."

"B-but sir that wood is for repairing the ship."

"If we don't catch that rat, who knows what kind of repairs we will be forced to make. Now I want it to have one glass side and I want it to be done by tomorrow. If not I'm going to feed you to those pretty sirens, understand?"

"Yes, Captain," Riley hastily ran off to get more help.

"Time to go fishing," Arthur said, looking over the misty water.

**Aboard the** _**Queen's**_ _**Jewel**_

"Why are we going left Mr. Bradley?" Captain Garrison called out to the helmsman.

"It's not steering, sir! I think the rudder is broken!"

Garrison cursed under his breath, first the blasted fog now this!

There was a massive jolt that sent the whole crew scrambling for something to hold on. After regaining his foothold, the captain looked around, what the hell was going on? "Sorry, I can't have you going any further. That ship is mine," a voice carried through the fog.

The captain shivered, something was very wrong about this, something wrong with that voice, "Who are you? Where are you?"

"Right here," the voice called cheerily. The captain turned to see a man propped up on his elbows on the wooden railing of the ship. Blue eyes observed the captain lazily, "Hey."

"W-what-,"

"Sorry, but I can't let you hurt yourself or my captain," the man hoisted himself up-

Later Captain Garrison watched as his ship sank into the sea.

**AN: THE PLOT THICKENS! Hope you guys liked this one, the good stuff is about to start *rubs hands together* **

**As you can probably already tell Arthur's pirate-speak is slowly disappearing already. Hopefully he still sounds like an Englishman. Heck, Alfred doesn't sound like a colonial but seeing as this is a fan fiction I think I can take some liberties and make him sound like a present day American.**

**Toris is still tightlipped but all shall be revealed…eventually.**

**Btw, this story is fifteen chapters long plus an epilogue and extra. Who will stay all the way to the end I wonder…**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

All was dark the next morning. The fog from the day before still lingered above the water and the clouds above were dark with rain. Water whispered as it brushed against the hull of the ship, the only sound in the chill morning air. A blonde head broke the surface of the water a hundred feet away. Alfred frowned at the eerie silence and the absence of men that were always crawling aboard the ship. Cautiously, he swam up to the people-holder (as Alfred liked to call it), eyes scanning the top for his captain.

"Artie?" he called quietly. Artie couldn't be too angry about the wooden steer thingy, right? Silence. Alfred ducked underwater and swam under the ship and to the other side, "Arthur? Captain?" he whispered again. Again, silence. Starting to get nervous the merman circled the ship, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of life.

A panicked thought went through him suddenly, _maybe another siren got them_? Alfred quickly banished the thought; no one would dare risk taking what he had claimed. Except Francis. But Alfred had dealt with him, the Frenchie wouldn't dare go within a hundred yards of the ship now…right?

Arthur probably just needs a song to wake him up, Alfred thought to himself, opening his mouth he began, "O, Captain-,"

"Toss the nets!" called out the familiar, angry voice. Suddenly the merman found himself tangled in coarse ropes and lifted from his precious water.

At the rush of vertigo he yelped, "Whoa!" involuntarily his tail flopped, further entrapping him in the net.

A harsh laugh filled the air, "Look here men, we've caught ourselves a fish!"

Alfred struggled with the ropes but soon realized that he was trapped. He looked down pleadingly at the smirking Brit, "Hey, there's no need for all of this. I'm sorry for breaking your flippy thing."

"Oh, but there is," Arthur laughed, "You have annoyed me the last time my little mermaid. Seeing as how you are a rare treasure I can only imagine how much a real myth like you will sell for." He chuckled then resumed shouting commands.

"This isn't a good idea, Artie. You don't know what you're getting into," Alfred laughed nervously. Arthur ignored him and turned to his men and gave orders to lower the siren onto the ship. None too gently the siren was dropped onto the wooden floorboards and dragged (struggling all the while) to a large tank in Arthur's quarters.

The tank, constructed hastily overnight, was wooden with a glass side and a top open so that Alfred could be dumped in. Filled to the top with water (Arthur wanted to make sure he couldn't hear a peep from the merman) the tank was twelve foot long and about four foot tall.

Arthur crouched down beside Alfred's head, "Now siren, we will cut you out of this net before putting you in there. Keep in mind that it is a long way to the sea from here by flopping and there are plenty of able-bodied men on the way there who are more than willing to kill you. Understand?"

Alfred nodded and stilled, Arthur nodded to the man beside him. The man took out a knife and worked at the net. Once Alfred was feed from the restraints the men (minus Arthur, he was a captain and would not be reduced to such labor), lifted Alfred and dumped him in the tank.

"Careful!" Arthur hissed when the displaced water splashed onto the floor.

The merman steadied himself in the water, holding onto the sides and stretching his tail out experimentally. Even though the tank was long Alfred had to bend his tail to accommodate his elongated bottom half. As he got used to the tank the men hurried to put the top over it, the wood piece was slotted to allow light to go in but the boards close enough so to not let his head pass through.

Arthur smirk grew. That was better, now he wouldn't have to deal with that annoying mouth anymore and he would be getting a hefty sum of money for the mythical creature. Ah, a pirate's life was go-

"_Man, you guys sure know how to make a tank_."

Arthur spun around. No, it couldn't be! "_I mean, you could have made it a bit longer but I can deal with this for a little while, not to mention it's got a __**fine**__ view."_ But it was. There that bastard was, arms crossed behind his head as if he were lounging around, talking in some impossible way through the water and glass.

Alfred saw Arthur and the crew's surprised expressions and gave his own smirk, "_What? Did you really think that some water could stop me, a magical, singing merman, from talking to you all_? Come on; give my melodious voice a little more credit."

"Shite," Arthur spat. It was six whole days before they reached a populated island. That meant six days of…that. _And_ the tank was in his cabin, a large box so heavy that by now would be a damn nuisance to move. He turned to the men, "I don't care who it is but someone, _someone_ make me a pair of earplugs." Hearing the anger just about to break out of his voice, the men swiftly ran off.

Behind him he could hear the merman's chuckles, almost eerie with their echoic quality, "_Oh Artie, this is only the beginning_."

**USUKUSUK**

It was only the first day and Arthur was ready to willingly hang by the noose. True to his word, Alfred's earlier singing was nothing compared to the non-stop screeching Arthur was hearing now. Even though the tank was deep inside the ship it seemed that solid doors (and earplugs, as Arthur soon found out) couldn't stop that "magical" voice. Nothing could stop him, Arthur had tried everything, asking politely, covering the tank, threatening to gut him like the fish he was…

By the end of the day the pirates were unafraid of speaking out to their captain and Arthur was beginning to fear having a mutiny on his hands.

One man, Rusty, the oldest of them all at sixty years old, pulled Arthur to the side. "Cap'n, there be nothin with badder luck than a captured mermaid. Worse than women they are."

"Thank you, Rusty, you may leave now," Arthur said through clenched teeth.

Rusty turned and left, grumbling as he did so and Arthur was left alone with Alfred's incessant wailing. The captain took off his hat and ran his hand angrily through his hair. This was impossible, he couldn't do anything. Really, who could?

Wait, that was it. Arthur's head jerked up, eyes searching the ship, "Toris!" he called out. When he didn't come Arthur turned to a man that he remembered conversing with the young man, "You there, what's your name?"

"Kelly, sir."

"Do you know where Toris is, Kelly?" he asked.

"He's sleeping, Captain. He had watch last night."

"Well, go get him and bring him to my quarters," Arthur said before striding to his room, not bothering to hear the "yes sir".

"_Hey there Artie!_" Alfred shouted as the captain walked in. He thankfully stopped his blasted singing and was sitting up somehow.

Arthur sighed, ears ringing from the relative silence, "Really, how you can sing at the top of your lungs for over an hour without getting hoarse…"

Alfred laughed, his tail flicking up and making water splash out of the tank, "_What can I say? My voice is god-like. I'll sing again for you, I call this one_-,"

"Wait, wait!" Arthur said quickly. Thankfully Alfred actually listened and went quiet, "I have a visitor for you."

As if on cue Toris stumbled in, rubbing his eyes, "Captain," he mumbled, trying to stand in attention.

"_Toris!_" Alfred enthusiastically waved at the brunette.

"Mr. Alfred?" Toris said, just seeing the merman.

"_Long time no see, man! How's pirating been treating ya?_"

"Good I guess," Toris said. The sleep was now thoroughly out of his eyes.

Arthur turned to Toris, "I trust you can take care of him, Toris," he said, stressing the _take care of him_ that most obviously meant _shut him up_.

"Y-yes, Captain, sir." Arthur then left the two of them, hoping that Toris could distract him for five days and six nights.

**USUKUSUK**

The next hour or so was heavenly for Arthur. He had almost forgotten what the world sounded like without that git's obnoxious voice. Toris was definitely getting a large sum of whatever they earned from Alfred.

The sun had just set when Toris came up to Arthur looking tired. Arthur smiled, after all, Toris was here and there was still no singing, "'Ello Toris, how is the merman-watching doing?" he asked cheerfully.

Toris looked a little taken aback, "Fine, Captain. I was just going to ask you a few things about it actually."

"Fire away, lad," Arthur said, continuing to smile.

"Well, Mr. Alfred hasn't eaten recently and wants something to eat. He says anything will do besides soup," Toris hesitated, "And I think the singing problem will be mostly solved if we give him something entertaining to do, like a puzzle or toy of some sort."

Arthur nodded in agreement, "That all sounds reasonable. You can speak with the cook and work something out. I'm sure I can find some kind of puzzle but from now on you will be his entertainment."

"Yes sir," Toris said with a smile and then sped off.

How he could stand the merman Arthur could not comprehend.

When Arthur decided to retire for the night he peaked into his cabin quietly. From what he could see Toris was hunched down in a chair in front of the tank, sleeping. Inside the tank, eyes closed, Arthur inferred that Alfred was sleeping as well. Observing the two Arthur decided that he would have to put in a mat for Toris to sleep in beside Alfred. He didn't mind; it would only be for a few days anyway.

Arthur stepped inside quietly and gently shook Toris awake, "Go to your hammock and sleep," he whispered to the man when he woke. Toris nodded and sleepily stood up and walked out.

Sighing Arthur walked over to his dresser, shaking off the grainy salt-stained clothing and pulling out a night gown. He had peeled his shirt off and was pulling off his trousers when he heard a distinct whistling sound, "_Niiiice_."

Needless to say, it was a long night.

Purple rings around his eyes and trying to suppress a yawn, Arthur watched the pink sunrise over the ever-changing waters. At least, he thought sleepily, Alfred was still asleep and now had Toris to watch over him. How he had gotten any sleep through all of the merman's "lullabies" was a mystery to him.

"Captain Kirkland?"

Alfred? No, Alfred was still in his tank and had no way of getting out. Arthur looked around for the quiet, confusing voice, "Where are you?"

"Down here," came the whisper.

Arthur looked over the side of the ship, into the water below to see a curly blonde head sticking out. "Alfred?" he asked, perplexed.

"No, I'm Matthew, his brother," now Arthur recognized him from the other day as the merman who helped them with the French merman.

"You aren't here to sing are you?" Arthur asked slightly annoyed.

Matthew hurriedly shook his head, "I wouldn't dare. I'm here to warn you."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "I am by no means giving the little bugger back after all I've been through. And I do not think you are in the position to make threats, fishy."

"Please don't misunderstand, I'm just trying to say that you should let him go because-,"

Before he could get another word out a loud voice resounded across the sea, "_IS THAT YOU MATTHEW? HEY BRO! YOU WOULN'T BE TELLING MY ARTIE ANYTHING TOO MISLEADING, RIGHT?_"

The merman sank into the water, looking up at the ship with slight fear, "Just let him go Captain Kirkland. If you don't in three days a storm will come," he whispered quickly then ducked back into the water with a flash of a purple tail.

**AN: Oh how I love to write pervy Alfred… Hope you liked the chapter cause I sure loved writing it (: **

**My updating schedule varies but I'll be sure to give you a chapter a week. The entire story is written already so all I really have to do is edit, copy, paste, add AN and I'm done. Know what gets 'em in faster? Reviews. You guys motivate me to take time out of my 6-AP-classes-homework-filled day to update.**

**Oh and I'm not going to be using the metric system anytime soon (sorry American here) so if you reeeally want to know the tank is approximately 3.6 ****meters**** long, 1.2 meters tall. **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The second day of Alfred's confinement passed much more smoothly than the first. Alfred was pacified and the singing had stopped (except for an occasional few bars when Toris wasn't there) much to the whole ship's relief. All because of Toris.

Every minute Arthur thanked God for the man. Toris on the other hand was more than happy to do anything, _anything_ for Alfred and contrary to the undoubtedly miserable job, Toris would oftentimes be seen humming to himself and smiling more than ever. Arthur was flabbergasted but the reason for his happiness was simple: the life of a pirate was not an easy one, Toris' especially. Working until you coughed up blood, scrubbing the floor until you got blisters, killing people, getting flogged, etc. was rather hard on the nerves. Babysitting a happy-go-lucky merman was soothing in comparison.

Arthur was glad to be in control of his ship again, happy for the relative normalcy. Instead of having his future sense of hearing cut by a few decades he now only had to check on the merman to make sure he hadn't escaped or hurt Toris (there was really no threat, Arthur would walk in on them only to find the unlikely friends exchanging stories or playing some ridiculous game).

There were only two dark spots to his bright mood. The first of which was that instead of the ammo supply, the food supply was depleting. Alfred, as it turned out, had a rather large appetite and fondness for meat. The second of which were the words of Alfred's brother that continued to haunt his mind. _In three days a storm will come_…. Arthur didn't know why but he felt threatened by the words. There was no reason to fear a quiet merman. Yet he looked again and again into the windy, cloudless sky only to see the sun making its regular track through the day. Nothing to worry about.

The day passed quickly between running the ship and checking on Alfred. Night came and Arthur was left with only the watchmen as he waited for Toris. He stood on the prow as he often did, looking up into the starry sky. Nothing was quite like the shinning white dust that filled it and reflected on the waters below. No matter how many times he saw the lights he couldn't help but to be awestruck. Not like he would tell the crew, a pirate captain being fond of stargazing would not do.

_Really, how long does that merman stay up_? Arthur thought as the moon reached the peak of the dark sky. The cool sea breeze seemed like it was trying to lull him sleep. Arthur closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of the salty air. As much as he hated waiting, he loved this time at night when all you could hear was the small waves against the ship as it sighed and its old wooden bones creaked.

Footsteps. Arthur didn't turn, "Asleep?" he asked.

"Yes, Captain," Toris answered. Arthur turned his gaze away from the sky and pushed himself away from the prow. Without a word the two began to walk to Arthur's cabin. In the silence Arthur could see Toris was struggling with something.

"Is there something you want to say Toris?" Arthur asked as they ascended the stairs.

Toris opened his mouth for a second then closed it slowly, "No, not really…I did find something that might help you next time he annoys you."

More secrets. Arthur let it slip; Toris had earned it, "Yes, and what is that?"

"He likes to hear others sing. I'd try it next time," Toris smiled nervously.

They had reached the door to the cabin, "Hmm…I'll think about it." But Arthur had thought about it and he was most definitely _not_ going to sing to some bumbling merman. The door opened and the two walked in quietly. Inside the warm room there was a mat on the opposite side of the room where Arthur's bed was, beside the tank. Toris had expressed some discomfort at the prospect of sleeping in the same room as the captain but Arthur had assured him that it was only for a few days and he did not mind.

A little reluctantly Toris walked over to his mat and laid down facing the wall. Arthur continued to walk inside, stopping at the tank and running a critical eye of the merman inside. Alfred was floating, his forehead hitting the back of the tank with a soft thud. Arthur stared. Even with all of his annoying qualities, Alfred was still had that mesmerizing quality of something magical. His lips were slightly parted and emitting soft snores. On Alfred's neck Arthur could see he slits opening as he exhaled, much like a fish. Around that same neck was a necklace made of leather that had something hanging off of it that he couldn't quite make out.

Arthur's eyes trailed down the merman's muscular chest to the long, powerful tail. It was beautiful, from the light blue at the beginning of the skin meeting scales to the deep blue hues flecked with gold. _Like his eyes_…. Arthur quickly shook his head and walked away. _Damn merfolk magic, messing with my head._

Alfred was definitely asleep; his progressively louder snores proof enough. That of course didn't stop Arthur from triple checking over his shoulder before he started to change.

**USUKUSUK**

Arthur woke at sunrise, his internal clock infallible as ever. He dressed and made his way to the poop deck leaving Toris, still asleep, to be woken up by Alfred. When he stepped out his eyes went immediately to the sky. Deep blue stretched out above him, hues of pink in the east as the sun broke the horizon. There were no storm clouds in sight, only the wispy remnants of clouds too thin for any precipitation.

He turned his gaze to the ship and was glad to see the men working, appropriately doing their jobs with even more vigor at his gaze. Fear was good; mutinies were nasty business and a pain to prevent. Who knew when he would flog someone for some silly error to reinforce a stronger sense of respect? Talking of error, where was his tea…?

Right on cue a boy scuttled off and returned a short time later with a shaking cup of tea.

"Your tea, Captain," he murmured holding the drink up to Arthur.

"Thank you lad," the Captain hummed in appreciation and took the fine china. After savoring good whiff of the wondrous drink he took a sip. Ah, nothing like some good Earl Grey taken from some snooty, rich merchant.

Life was good.

**USUKUSUK **

"_ARTIE~ ARTIIIEEE~_," Arthur grit his teeth at the fiftieth butchery of his name. It was midday and unfortunately Alfred was up and sought Arthur's company. The captain was just going to ignore him, trusting in Toris' skill of keeping the merman at bay. Somehow he had underestimated Alfred's persistence.

"_ARTIE_~"

"That's it!" Arthur stuffed his eyeglass into a pocket of his coat and stomped over to his cabin. He stepped into the room, effectively cutting off Alfred's scream with a slam of the door.

Toris looked at Arthur, actually shaking, "I-I'm sorry captain, I tried to stop him!"

Arthur really didn't care about Toris at the moment his two burning eyes were all over the grinning siren, "WHAT ALFRED? WHAT THE BLOODY _HELL_ DO YOU WANT?"

Alfred smiled, "_Hi_."

...Arthur pulled out his pistol and cocked it. "No Captain! Don't shoot the tank!" Toris shouted hurriedly pushing the gun so that it aimed at the floor. Alfred wasn't helping as he laughed heartily watching the two of the men struggle.

"_I_ _was kidding_," Alfred said between his laughs, "_Sorry, it was just so tempting_."

Arthur put away the pistol and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he tried to reign in his anger, "What….what do you want?" he said slowly.

"_Just to talk_," Alfred said, somehow doing a little flip in the tight confines to stretch his muscles, "_It's kinda boring talking only to the same person all day. No offense Toris_."

Arthur was quiet for a moment, thinking. It would be annoying to have to talk to the obnoxious merman but he did not want to hear his name screamed so incredibly gratingly again. He _did _have some maps to check up on, "Fine…Toris…go eat something."

Toris said a quick thank you and nervously walked out. Arthur suppressed another sigh and walked over to his table that was littered with maps and navigational charts. "_So_…," Alfred drawled, "_What are you doin_?"

"Making sure we stay on course," Arthur growled.

"_Ah…you humans really do have to make papers and stuff for that. I never really got it. Can I see one of your sea pictures_?" Alfred asked pressing forward on the glass.

"No."

"_Can_ _I_ _get a little_ _stretch in the sea_? _I_ _promise I'll come right back_."

"Hell no."

Alfred pouted, "_No_ _need to be all stiff_." There was a moment of quiet, "_So…are you really going to sell me_?"

"Yes."

"…_That's not very nice_."

"Pirate."

Alfred didn't quite like the one word answers he was getting, "_Okay then. How did you become a pirate_?"

Arthur huffed, knowing Alfred would not stop asking questions, "My village was raided by pirates and they took me as a cabin boy."

"_Kinda like me_!" Arthur scowled. "_How old were you_?"

"Thirteen. Couldn't ask for more on my birthday."

"_Ouch, that's harsh_," Alfred said, his head in his hands as he lay down at the bottom of the tank, "_But you're sure not a cabin boy now. How did you become a captain_?"

"It was only…five years ago-," Arthur then began his story Alfred listening intently as he talked of mutinies and of epic feats. Though Arthur would vehemently deny it, he was a rather good storyteller. As consequence Alfred didn't speak a word, only watching from his tank with wide eyes. Arthur let himself get pulled into talking of his life as a captain by Alfred.

A pirate's life was often not very romantic, against popular belief, but Arthur was a special case and though he did exaggerate at parts he really did have very interesting stories to tell. Alfred didn't quite believe him when he started to talk of fairies and unicorns but he loved to hear Arthur talk with such enthusiasm.

Hours passed and before they knew it the day was over and Alfred's eyes were drooping. Arthur didn't notice it and went on talking until he felt a hand on his shoulder. "He's asleep, Captain," Toris said softly when Arthur looked up. He finally looked over to the tank and sure enough the merman was sleeping soundly.

"Rude brat," Arthur hissed but was secretly glad that Alfred had fallen asleep earlier than usual. He turned back to his maps to find that he had done practically nothing. _Oh well, I can get it done tomorrow_.

Arthur rose from his chair, cracking his back with a groan. From the corner of his eye he could see Toris standing behind him obviously struggling with something, "What is it Toris?" he asked, feeling like he was just repeating himself, "Spit it out lad."

"Do we…do we really have to sell him?" Toris asked.

Arthur frowned, "Toris, if you are getting attached-,"

"No, sir. I mean, I-I do like him, Alfred's a really nice guy but I've got this feeling…" Toris squirmed a bit, "He keeps saying that tomorrow I shouldn't come in here and I should be by a lifeboat. He keeps warning me and I have a bad feeling that…something really is going to happen tomorrow, all because of him."

Arthur nodded, "I will, keep that in mind, Toris." Toris, with a pained sigh of his own, turned to his mat to sleep.

Arthur unbuttoned his shirt and changed into new clothes. His eyes stared through the wooden floor boards, mind somewhere else. He fell into bed and descended into a restless sleep.

_In three days a storm will come… _

**AN: I'm sorry for the Family Guy reference. It really did fit the situation. **

**Kind of a filler chapter :/ I was planning on including more but this seemed like a good place to break it. Oh you guys are going to love the next chapter. Just in case you didn't know, the next day is…THE STORM! Finally some action (not the romantic kind unfortunately).**

**You guys are SO AWESOME. The last two chapters got more than five reviews *sniff* I feel so loved. Thank you so much. I didn't get to many reviews last chapter but I hope you all know that if you take the time to write me even one word you make my day. And long reviews? I literally squeal. Anyway, sorry for the long review. Should have the next chapter up when I edit it.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Under the water it was empty. Matthew looked over the expanse with sad eyes, missing how the scales of a school of fish would shine when the sun shone through. The merman sighed and flipped backwards, absentmindedly doing summersaults. Oh how he wished he could hear that obnoxious, loud, identical (and stupid, oh so stupid) voice but no, his brother had gotten into _another_ mess. A mess that involved a human pirate of all things. Curse Alfred for making him swear off singing so Matthew couldn't just get them to throw his brother off. He wouldn't be hearing that voice again. Knowing Al, he was probably being an idiot and destroying that small chance of the captain letting him go.

The somersault lost momentum and Matthew was left facing the surface as it crinkled, a molten sky. A dark phantom glided across the ceiling. The ship. "Damn it, Al," he sighed, slowly spinning again. He yelped when he found himself face to face with an incredibly different blonde merman.

"Francis!"

"Oh Mathieu, it is not Alfred you should be worrying about," the French siren cooed, twirling one of Matthew's curls.

Matthew pulled back, blushing, "I know that. I just wish Al would get over that pirate."

"No luck with the 'big man'?" Francis said as he swam around Matthew.

Matthew shook his head, "No, he's just as stubborn."

Francis sighed, "Alfred is too spoiled. I pity any object of his affection. Hopefully that cute little captain will not get killed because of him…"

Matthew silently agreed.

**USUKUSUK**

Arthur woke to the low sound of thunder. He sat up, instantly awake.

"_Good morning, sunshine_," he turned to see the merman, arms crossed behind his head again, smiling devilishly at him, "_Ready_ _for_ _another beautiful day_?"

Scowling, Arthur threw off his covers and pulled on his clothes, ignoring the merman's comments and whistles. The moment he as he was clothed he sprinted out the door only to be confronted with a strong gust of wind and the sight of rolling storm clouds. The merman was right. Arthur ran to the helmsman, "When did this happen?"

"It was as clear as day captain until just a few moments ago," the man yelled over the gust trying to tear him away from the wheel. The grizzled pirate eyed the clouds anxiously, "I've never seen anything like it." Arthur looked up the storm and couldn't help but to agree. These clouds seemed more ominous, uglier, than normal clouds. There could only be one reason why.

Arthur stormed into his cabin. The door slammed into the wall, "_You_," he said, pointing to the siren.

Alfred looked up from his lounging position in the tank and wiggled his eyebrows, "Yes?"

"What is this?"

"You mean this storm?" he looked around Arthur to the darkening clouds, "Really Artie, Mattie warned you about it and everything. But did you let me go? _Nooo_…."

"You still haven't answered my question!" Arthur yelled, losing patience.

Alfred shrugged and was suddenly very interested in his tail, "Oh you know, just a little something my Pops probably cooked up."

"What?"

"My Pops. The Ruler of the Seas and all. He tends to get a little pissed when people kidnap his offspring. If you know what I mean." Alfred winked.

"Wha-Why didn't you tell me this?" Arthur shouted incredulously.

Alfred held up a finger, "First off, you did kinda kidnap me and threaten to sell me. Second, do you really think you would have stopped if I told you?"

He had a point but damn him if Arthur's ship was going to sink because of some cocky merman. He swiftly turned and walked back outside, shouting orders away. Alfred called, "Be careful!" behind him before the door closed and cut him off from the outside.

The rain was starting to pound on the ship and the waves were beginning to get larger. Arthur grit his teeth. So he was going to battle the Ruler of the Seas, eh? But he was the great Captain Arthur Kirkland, he'd seen the roughest seas on this side of the world. This storm would only serve to better him. If he survived his name would be seen throughout the world. A smile started to grow on his face, _bring it on._

It was the greatest storm the ship had ever faced. The sailors would remember just how great the waves grew and how terrifying the lightning boomed beside them and how angry the sea scowled at them in all directions. The thing they would remember the most, however, was the twisted grin their captain wore as he danced with the raging sea and the terrifying laugh that could be heard over the din. The winds were torrential and thunder exploded but Arthur held onto the ropes and lashed out against them, screaming out again and again for more.

All agreed that that day was Captain Arthur Kirkland's best day.

Hours passed when suddenly it all stopped. The winds and rain died down and the waves ceased to exist and all that remained were the black clouds above them and an eerie silence. The men broke into cheers and song. The pirate's weary muscles were filled with energy and they twirled and twisted in a rudimentary dance.

Like the waters around the ship Captain Arthur remained quiet and kept his eyes on the sea. _This cannot be it_, he thought grimly, _she has more to give_.

It did not take long for him to see what else the sea had to offer. The horizon slowly curved and the ship slowly sank. Arthur took a step back, almost panicky as he saw it. _Bullocks that's going to huge_. He turned to the crew hurriedly barking commands. The crew, sensing something was wrong, turned to see what their captain was saying.

Mouths hung open. A few shouts and prayers to God were raised. With heavy hearts they watched as the very sea sloping up to meet them. The water moved slowly like lava, cresting from a mile away and grew and grew and grew. The men began to scramble.

"TSUNAMI!" a crewmember from the eastern countries cried out in horror.

_It can't get this big, it's not possible_, Arthur repeated in his mind. It was the size of the ship. Now two times bigger. By the time it neared the wave was almost three times the size of the ship, by far the biggest wave Arthur had ever seen. The anger of the Ruler of the Seas.

The ship tipped, pulled by the powerful current into the watery incline. Arthur gripped onto the side of the ship. Years of experience told him what was going to happen, the entire ship was either going to flip or get crushed under the water. It was hopeless. The _Black Britannia_ was going to sink and as a captain he was to die with her. Arthur gulped, all of those years that passed by that he hadn't bothered to learn to swim seemed to mock him. He had felt this panic before, when he was shot and his mind kept trying to cling to the possibility of survival and told him it wasn't _fair_, he was too _young_, he still needed to _live_, he still had a _life_ ahead of him. But logic told him that it was too late already, he was going to die over a damn merman.

The awesome power of the tsunami carried the vessel into the air and men started to fall from the ship along with barrels and anything that wasn't already tied on. Up and up and up the ship traveled until it was almost upside down on the top of the underside of the wave. The men who still held on, Arthur among them, stomach's started to tickle as the ship gave up its grip on the water and started to fall. Meanwhile the wave curled, collapsing in on itself with the ship still inside. All the men watched as the water seemed to come at them at all sides.

An annoying laugh could be heard over the screams of men and the crash of water…

Arthur didn't remember the impact, just water, crushing water. And how his grip on the wood that he was determined to keep was torn away easily by the torrential currents. And he was sent down into the depths, spinning and hitting objects, soft flesh and hard wood, along the way. His breath was snatched away as quickly as he had tried to hold it and his lungs screamed at him. No distinguishing thoughts could pass through his mind just a desperate cry for _air, air, air_!

All went dark…

**USUKUSUK**

Arthur woke to water being forced out of his lungs. He coughed and choked, his mind jumbled and blurred. There were words but he couldn't understand. Something was pushed into his mouth and he was forced to swallow. Darkness began to take him again. In the back of his mind came a random thought, _the water is cold_.

**USUKUSUK**

He woke abruptly when water attacked him again. He flailed trying to push away whatever was bringing him back down, trying to reach for air. But the hold on him was as strong as steel and he could do nothing when his lungs felt like they were shriveling and dying. Thoughts faded again with a painful unconsciousness.

**USUKUSUK**

_Dreams surfaced in his mind. Old images of a small village and three big brothers. The sea. He felt an odd fear toward the waters lapping at his feet. But he plunged toward it, ignoring the foreboding. He laughed; a light sound, childish, as he walked into the water. A woman's voice called out, a warning. Still he continued until the water lapped his shoulders. The shouts were louder now. Arthur turned, taking a step back. The world tipped when his foot reached for ground that wasn't there and he fell into the water. Panic. He breathed in but there was no air. Vile salt-water filled his lungs. _No, no no_. There was nothing but water…_

_Strong hands grabbed him, pulling him until his head broke the surface-_

Arthur's eyes cracked open and he took an unsteady breath in. Above him he could see a stone ceiling with stalactites. A cave? He tried to sit up but he found his muscles sore and unresponsive and was he covered in…blankets?

Sleep was slowly losing its grip on Arthur's mind, now being replaced with the drowsy feeling that came with a fever. He was hot, yet cold, shaking with his abnormal temperature. A cold? Wait, wasn't he drowning? The ship, the tsunami, the annoying merman… Pushing past the weight of his sickness Arthur raised his head and sat up on his elbows.

His first thought was that he had died. All around him were piles and piles of gold, chests spewing jewels and ancient coins. Along the walls were mastheads of sunken ships, women, some with wings, facing forward to some destination. And there were other stranger treasures as well: massive globes, mirrors, clothes, a silver and gold chess set, a rough sketch of the night sky.

The more he saw, however, the more he realized that this was not heaven but a large cave. Torches hung from the walls and gave light to the dark cavern and to his right there was a blue pool that he presumed led outside and to his left, over the treasure, there was a dark tunnel.

When Arthur's eyes finally traveled down to his body he saw that he was lying down in and wrapped in blankets. As he looked closer he saw that they were blankets made for royalty, woven with gold and made with an exquisite design, and were very soft and warm. What the-?

That's when he heard it-a ringing whistle that echoed off the walls. Arthur turned his head to the tunnel, so tired he could only the man's feet as he walked out. "So you're up? Lay back down Artie, you're still sick!"

Arthur froze, he knew that voice. It couldn't be-"Come on, you heard me. Do I have to sing you to sleep?"

_Gulp_. Arthur's eyes blinked then reluctantly traveled from the feet, up the man's-embarrassingly naked-body, past the familiar leather necklace, up to see that smiling, blue-eyed face.

Alfred laughed, "Hey Artie!"

**AN: Ughhh, I hate typing in my edits; it makes me realize just how much I can improve on. Sorry if the sentence structures seem repetitive. Anyway, *Pirates of the Caribbean music* hoped you liked the chapter; it was at least fun to write.**

**Thanks again for all the reviews! Last chapter got so many story alerts which is awesome since that means at least there are more people out there reading this, hope I don't disappoint y'all (the story will get deeper over time I swear).**

**Btw, chapters 1-15 are posted in a certain place…if you're interested in crappy writing don't hesitate to ask where.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The first thing Arthur did in such a situation was throw his hands in front of his face, the second was to scream, "You-what-why the hell are you NAKED? W-where am I? How are you here? Where's my ship? What happened to my men? How do you have legs? Good God put something on!"

"Whoa there," Alfred walked over to the panicking man, "Settle down, you're still sick."

Arthur tried to push the merman, away from him as Alfred stooped down to help him, "G-get away from me you-whatever you are!"

Alfred ignored the captain and pushed him down onto the blankets. Powerless from the fever, Arthur couldn't help but to lay down, blushing all the while, "Damn it, at least clothe yourself!"

The merman laughed and looked down at himself, "I don't get it with you humans and covering yourselves. You didn't have a problem with me when I wasn't wearing anything before. Not to mention you're not wearing anything yourself."

"Y-you fool, that was before you had-Wait, what?" Arthur lifted his blankets to see that he was indeed very much without clothing, "Where are my clothes? How could yo-,"

"Hey don't get the wrong idea," Alfred said hurriedly, "Your clothes were soaking wet and gritty. I had to get them off you so that you wouldn't get worse."

Arthur inwardly agreed but scowled all the while then remembered that the man in front of him was still _completely nude_, "Good God, CLOTHE YOURSEF!" he closed his eyes, reddening again.

"Toris felt the same way, hahaha! But fine, I'll go put something on," Alfred turned and walked away only to return a few seconds later wearing a loose pair of trousers. He saw Arthur glaring at him and cocked his head, "What?"

Oh Arthur could have screamed. So he did. "Don't you _what_ me! You destroyed my ship and probably killed all my men! And now I'm here in some God-forsaken cave being held hostage!"

"Hold it right there!" Alfred put up his hands, "Calm down Artie. ("And stop calling me Artie!") Your ship…well it's pretty trashed but for the most part your men are fine. I made my old man promise to not kill anyone and last I checked they were doing pretty well in some other ship."

"How-?"

"Mattie did a good job at helping them and finding a ship to pick them up. They're kinda locked up right now but I'm sure it'll work out."

"Locked up? What kind of ship are they on?"

"Oh some British naval ship."

Alfred watched, a little worried, as Arthur's face changed from red to purple, "Y-you imbecile! Now they are all going to get hanged!"

Alfred rubbed his ears, "Man, are you easily excitable. Don't worry, Mattie and I will make sure that doesn't happen. For now you should be worrying about your own health."

At the mention of his current state a wave of fatigue washed over Arthur but he ignored it, pressing for more answers, "How did you escape? And why do you have legs?"

"Psh, escaping was easy! All it needed as a good punch through the glass and I was out. It did kinda hurt…" at the thought he rolled his left shoulder a bit.

"You mean, you could have escaped the whole time?" Arthur asked unbelieving.

"Yep."

"Well, why didn't you?"

Alfred wriggled his eyebrows and grinned impishly, "'Cause I like to watch you squirm of course."

Arthur had to hold in the scream of frustration. Was there any limit to how insufferable the tosser could get? "And the legs? I suppose you had them all along too."

Alfred laughed, "Yes and no. I haven't had them forever, just a few months ago. See this," he fingered the leather necklace, "The Sea Witch gave it to me so that I could have legs whenever I wanted. Not without a price of course."

"What did she ask for? Your intelligence?"

Instead of some witty, pervy, or stupid comeback, laugh, or smile Alfred, for the first time since Arthur had known him, blushed. Cheeks-pinking-little-bashful-girl blush. "N-nothing, just a little promise, that's all," he said shyly.

Arthur couldn't help but to stare in amazement. What a novel experience from the cocky brat, and cute. _Wait, what?_ "But yeah," he coughed and fingered the thing hanging off of the necklace, "evidentially it's made of a human's toe bone. Contains powers or some crap like that."

Arthur looked a little closer and saw that it was indeed a little piece of bone with a hole at the top for the leather string, "Anyway it took me a awhile to get used to these things," Alfred flexed one of his feet in the air, "Walking was a bitch. Luckily Toris was a good teacher."

"Toris?"

"Yep, that's why I brought him here. And you know, he was right; even though I haven't walked around in a week or so it's pretty easy to pick up again," demonstrating the fact he spun around and jumped, clapping his feet in the air before landing with a flourish, "What do ya think?"

"I think it's a bloody nuisance," Arthur said, glaring, "You were already a problem with a tail; I can only imagine what you can do with feet."

Pouting Alfred crossed his arms, "Well, that's not very nice," the small frown disappeared quickly, "You know, you really should be getting some sleep. That's the best thing for someone sick."

Suddenly it seemed like his eyelids had gained several kilos, "I'm not tired," he mumbled stubbornly.

"Sure you aren't. Oh and by the way, if you wake up don't try to run off. There's a river over there," he pointed in the direction of the tunnel, "I wouldn't try to swimming in it, who knows where it leads. That pool right there leads to the sea but seeing as it took me fifteen minutes to swim here at full speed you probably won't make it unless you grow gills."

Arthur only grunted, still trying to fight his eyelids as they continued to droop. Eventually he gave up, confident that he could keep awake even though his eyes were closed. In the background he could hear Alfred's feet scrape the stone floor as he walked around the cave. Following the steps was Alfred's soft hum of some lullaby.

**USUKUSUK**

It was Arthur's stomach that woke him up. The experience was disorienting and uncomfortable. Arthur didn't remember falling asleep and though the fever had broken he still feel the aftereffects. Not to mention waking up hungry. Thankfully his nose could smell something that would fix that problem. His stomach twisted painfully at the thought and forced him out of the comfortably warm blankets.

Arthur spotted a pile of clothes not too far away and, after triple-checking to make sure the merman wasn't hiding behind some chest or tunnel wall, he quickly grabbed the clothes and slipped into them. The fabric was like the blankets, embroidered with fine lace and gold, velvet and silk, ostentatious but Arthur had a love for such things.

His nose, sensitive with hunger, led him to the tunnel that he could see branched off into three directions, two ways without torches so he could not see where they led. The other one ended abruptly and opened up into another chamber. In the middle of the chamber Arthur could see a fire and crouched in front of it, back facing him, was Alfred. The captain quietly approached the chamber and the smell grew stronger. Alfred's back was tanned from the sun and the defined muscles that stretched down it rippled as he rolled his shoulders. The movement emphasized the ugly jagged cut from the glass of the tank on his left shoulder blade.

Arthur tore his eyes away but before he could hope to sneak up and startle the boy his stomach let out a loud growl. Arthur blushed and Alfred turned, grinning, "Hey there Cap'n, hungry?"

Arthur muttered an affirmative and walked over by the warm fire. Alfred grabbed a plate right beside him, "I'm cooking up some fish. Here, have some of this while you're waiting."

"Is that…seaweed?" Arthur asked eyed the green contents on the plate with frown of disgust, "I'm not some fish."

Alfred rolled his eyes, "This isn't your normal seaweed. It's this special kind that even humans like," he pushed the plate into Arthur's hands.

Grimacing, Arthur sat down with the fine china plate. The dark green mound did not look the least bit appealing, more like goo but Arthur's stomach was demanding that _something_ be put in. He grabbed a small bit with his hands and took a tentative bite.

"What do you think?" Alfred asked.

"It's…sweet," the scowl fell, replaced with a surprised _o._

Alfred just smiled and stood, "So," he clapped his hands together, "What are you thirsty for?" he walked over to a group of barrels stacked along the wall, "We've got water and rum and I believe this is wine," he patted one of the containers.

"Rum," Arthur ordered, since he was here he might as well get drunk. Alfred laughed, grabbed a nearby mug, and filled it. Arthur made sure to take note of the place of that specific barrel for future reference. He accepted the mug gladly and took a long satisfying draught.

Alfred walked back to the fireside and checked the fish, "I think dinner's ready," without asking he grabbed Arthur's plate and took the two fish cooking on iron rods and scraped them onto the plate, "Careful, they still have bones."

"No silverware?" Arthur eyed the browned meat.

"I figured you were too hungry for those. You haven't eaten in two days or so. But I'll go get some for ya," he ran out. As soon as Alfred stepped out, Arthur's stomach realized that it agreed with Alfred and Arthur began to dig into the fish and sweet seaweed.

By the time the merman walked back into the cavern the man had already eaten the first fish and was starting the second. "You sure you need these?" Alfred asked with a smile, holding a gem studded fork and knife. Arthur gave him a customary scowl and took the silverware. The seaweed was too messy too eat with by hand anyway.

As Arthur ate Alfred did not try to hide his stares at the captain. The man found it more than uncomfortable that Alfred wasn't speaking or eating with him, just staring and smiling dumbly, "Stop that," he hissed as it became unbearable.

"What?"

"Staring."

Alfred laughed and looked into the fire but Arthur could still see the furtive glances his way. Arthur started to shift in his spot and after a few minutes Alfred suddenly jumped to his feet, "Well I guess I'll go grab something to eat."

Before Arthur could move away Alfred put his forehead to Arthur's and pulled it away just as quickly, "You're still a little warm. Be sure to get some sleep when you're done."

Arthur's hand few to his forehead and his mouth opened to further criticize the merman but no words came out. Alfred gave a small laugh and a flashed one final pearly white smile and jumped into the pool before he regained his sense of speech.

When Arthur finished his dinner and retired (sober, unfortunately) to his blanket bed the merman still had not returned. All that was left was a pair of worn trousers left by the pool's edge.

**AN: I am so sorry that this chapter was boring and short but it was necessary. I was going to combine it with the next chapter but then it would have been over 5K words long and I didn't want to mess up the flow. The next chapter will make up for it *hint hint wink wink*.**

**Fun Fact: All seaweed is edible. This seaweed was actually based off some in a video I saw as a kid but I can't find it online :/**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Wake up~ Wake up~ It's time to get uuuup~" The noise was much like the sound of nails on a chalkboard and Arthur's reaction was immediate; his hand whipped out and slapped the crap out of the source.

There was a loud exclamation and the sound of someone scrambling away. Arthur ignored it and curled up in his warm blankets trying to fall back into a blissful slumber. Alfred wouldn't have any of that. He began to sing again, farther away this time, no doubt out of hitting distance, "Come on Artie~ Or you'll be sorry~" Arthur didn't care, he needed sleep damn it! He turned away from the noise and squeezed his eyelids closed.

Suddenly there was a moment of bliss; an absence of any noise. The moment was swiftly broken by the feeling of a wet finger in his ear. Arthur jerked up, cursing and Alfred laughed.

Arthur turned around and glared at the snickering merman who was most unfortunately too far from reach, "Why must you wake me? What's so bloody important?"

"Well it's almost midday; you've got to get up and eat," he pulled out a plate seemingly from nowhere, "Here, I've got some bread and some seaweed."

Arthur looked at him with a mixture of anger and disbelief, "You woke me up for food and to keep me on schedule? Why the hell does it matter? You've kidnapped me! I don't exactly have anywhere to go!"

The siren ignored his outburst, "And I wanted to let you know that I have to leave and sort some things out. Oh, here's some fresh water for ya," he handed him a mug and before Arthur could blink leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, just as quickly as the temperature check the day before (or night, Arthur couldn't tell time in the cave).

"_You did not just_-!"

"I'll be back soon," Alfred said, cutting him off, "Have a look around, just don't explore the tunnels very much; it's easy to get lost in them. There's a river running through the first one to the left, take a torch with you and you can take a piss there or whatever you need. Just remember, don't try to escape." Alfred smiled brightly as he said the ominous comment before walking over to the pool. To Arthur's immense irritation he was not given a warning before tossing pulling down his trousers and throwing them to the side giving him another unwanted show of the merman's arse.

The merman dove into the water and popped out for a moment, "Goodbye, Sunshine!" he exclaimed before disappearing back into the water.

Arthur chewed on his stale bread, venomously staring at the blue water as if Alfred could see him. It wasn't like he could escape, he thought annoyed, he couldn't even swim. Wiping the sleep out of his eyes, he quickly finished his breakfast.

After grabbing a torch and finding his way to the underground river he relieved himself (it had been a rather long time). It was barley a river, more like a fast flowing stream flowing alongside the path further into the cave. Arthur looked around for the end of it but the water on both ends flowed off into smaller caves carved out by the water that he could not fit in.

Urge to explore out of his system Arthur decided to take up Alfred's suggestion to look around where he slept. His eyes widened again with the sight of the gold as if he were seeing it for the first time. The sheer amount of the horde was incredible; Arthur estimated that if he were to take all of the treasure he could have easily been the richest man in England besides the King himself. But taking the treasure out of the cave would be an impossible feat, to swim with so much gold…it would take him years to get everything out and inhuman strength and the ability to breathe underwater. Who knew how long Alfred had been collecting and how in the world he carried the chests easily ten times his weight.

Arthur walked over to a small pile of gold, kneeling down and raking a hand through the coins. His hand closed around a fistful and he brought it up to his face. Each gold piece was different, 24 karat, and mixed with pearls and jewels. He could only imagine how much the treasure just in his hand cost. After carefully setting down the handful he stood up and walked around, stopping by objects that sparked his interest.

The chess set he had seen earlier was still sitting on the ground, the ivory box almost touching the waters of the pool. Arthur had played chess before and he hadn't been exactly good at it. He didn't mind; he much preferred a good swordfight any day. But his apathy of the game did not dissuade him from the set. The detail impressed him; the queens on both sides were two different, beautiful people, the rooks had emblems on their turret walls, even the pawns were an array of soldiers with subtle differences. Yet the gleaming gold and silver pieces did not sit in their respective places, speaking of an ongoing game. Analyzing the places of the pieces and the ratio of gold to silver pieces that were still left on the board it seemed that gold was losing the battle.

He continued to browse, finding a jade dragon the size of a pony, a ruby as big as his fist, and an ancient gold plated book with intricate illustrations and words in Old English. A true pirate, he felt giddy as he perused the bounty, laughed when he found a solid golden apple, and took a few swings of a sword so mighty that it could have been the mighty Excalibur. Oh he could entertain himself for weeks in that cave. A small voice in the back of his head told him he would have to but he pushed the thought away quickly.

Scattered almost randomly amongst the valuables were items that didn't fit, trinkets that perhaps held some sentimental value to the merman or, what Arthur preferred to believe, were things that the merman impulsively took out of curiosity. A woman's ratty umbrella, a leather bound book filled with pressed flowers, a pair of broken spectacles, a lamp encrusted with barnacles, a strangely shaped leather ball. One such worthless trinket caught his eye, a small green seashell. Something about it sent shivers of nostalgia down his spine, a memory that he had forgotten but suddenly remembered. For whatever the reason, he became so absorbed with the pretty green thing that he didn't notice the footsteps behind him.

"So you like shells?" a familiar voice whispered into his ear.

Arthur jumped and glared over his shoulder, slapping the hand that had found its way to his shoulder, "No! I just…I don't know…" he fingered the shell again, feeling the smooth pear-like inside.

Alfred smiled, "You can keep it. And anything in here really."

"It's not like I can take anything with me. You've kidnapped me," contrary to his words, his hand closed around the seashell.

"Ha ha, your words not mine. You can't honestly still be sore about it. I mean, you held me captive for awhile, at least I'm not threatening to sell you."

"Well, then why am I here Alfred? Revenge, to toy with me, to kill me? What kind of sick torture do you want to inflict upon me?" Arthur looked up at him, eyes shining with defiance.

Alfred only smirked and leaned forward, "Nah, I'm not interested in anything like that."

Arthur backed away instinctively, "What then?"

The merman turned away and ran his bare foot through the coins at his feet, "I don't think I'm going to tell you."

With Alfred's eyes away, Arthur reached behind and pulled out the dagger he had found amongst the treasures. Now to just keep the idiot distracted, "I don't suppose you can tell me where you've been swimming off to?"

Alfred didn't turn, allowing Arthur to take a step forward as he talked, "Well, I had to tell my friends what's happening and stuff. And there were some things I had to sort out."

"What a shame," before Alfred could get another word out, Arthur, with practiced ease, whipped out the dagger and pressed it to the merman's neck, "Really boy you shouldn't have turned your back to me."

Alfred, to Arthur's irritation and surprise, only whistled, "Nice one Artie. Mind putting that away? Someone might get hurt."

"Shut your trap whelp," Arthur hissed into his ear, "I'm in a particularly _murderous_ mood today so don't provoke me."

Alfred smiled, "Okay! Now let's say you happen to slit my throat. I die. You live here the rest of your life or wandering the tunnels, you die, probably from starvation. Not a very happy ending," he spoke so cheerfully one would think he wasn't at knifepoint.

Arthur slowly grew more annoyed as he realized the merman was right; there was not getting out of here without him, "Shut your bleeding mouth!" he said then tried to press the dagger closer to Alfred's throat. However, he found he could not move the blade. Confused, he roughly pulled the handle only to find it immobile.

Suddenly the dagger was torn from his hands. Alfred slowly turned, holding the dagger by the blade between two fingers, "How….?"

Alfred shook his head, "If you aren't careful you could lose an eye with these things." Arthur watched in horror as Alfred grabbed the handle with his other hand and using only two fingers bent the blade so that the tip touched the hilt, effectively bending it in half. Arthur had held the dagger, felt the metal, it was iron.

All of a sudden it made sense as to how Alfred had brought such weighty treasures into the cave. Arthur took a step back, "You-you're a monster," he whispered.

The merman pouted, "Now that's not very nice. I'm just trying to help," as he spoke he bent the blade in half again and tossed it uncaringly over his shoulder.

At that moment on Arthur decided not to fight against the merman physically.

The rest of the day Arthur was quiet as Alfred babbled about trivial matters. No outbursts, no scowls, no angry mutterings, for the most party he just eyed the gleaming piles of treasure with a blank and impassive stare. Something was wrong, even Alfred, who was dense as a person could be when it came to others emotional states, could feel that something was off about the Brit. He frowned, "What's the matter Artie? You sick or something?"

Arthur was silent as he stared away. Alfred smirked, "You getting old Artie? Do I need to shout so you can hear me?" he poked his shoulder teasingly.

There was still no response and Alfred's frown returned, even more pronounced, "Artie?" When only silence greeted him Alfred decided to bring out the big guns. Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth-

Arthur was roughly pulled out of his trance by a terribly familiar sound, "_Good God_, stop that!" he yelled over Alfred's screeching and covered his ears with his hands.

Alfred's smile returned at the sight of the angry man, and of course belted out another verse even louder than the first, "Oh my captain dear~ You're lonely I fear~ But soon we'll be togetheeer~~~"

"Shut up! Shut up!" Arthur grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around his head, almost suffocating himself but not the sound, "PLEASE, I'll do anything just STOP!"

"Anything?" the singing stopped and Arthur unwrapped the blanket to see Alfred standing right in front of him leering.

Swallowing he bravely said, "Yes, anything."

"Kiss me," Alfred said simply.

There was a moment of stunned silence. "…What?"

"You heard me. Kiss me," Alfred looked down at the man expectantly.

"I will do _no_ such thing!" Arthur sputtered, pushing him away.

Undeterred, Alfred took a step forward, "You said anything so do it."

Arthur crossed his arms, "No."

"Okay then," Alfred took another deep breath, "Ooooh~"

"Stop, fine, I'll do it.," Arthur said quickly, choosing what he believed to be the lesser of two evils. Alfred thankfully stopped and leaned down until they were at eye level. Arthur avoided looking into those blue eyes, staring cautiously at Alfred's cheek. He'd make it a peck, like a greeting. Taking a deep breath he leaned forward and closed his eyes.

Alfred's head quickly turned so that instead of Arthur's lips meeting his cheek they meet two soft lips. Recognizing the texture Arthur's eyes flew open and he swiftly pulled away, bringing up his hand and smacking Alfred.

They both pulled away, Arthur furiously rubbing his mouth and trying to ignore the warmth gathering in his cheeks and ears, "You bastard!" he hissed.

Alfred massaged his red hand-printed cheek, "Man you sure sting Sunshine," Alfred smirked, "Can't say I didn't like it though."

The next minute consisted of Alfred laughing as the furious man chased after him. The heartfelt moment came to an end, however, when Alfred dove into the water to escape the fate of being murdered in the most excruciating way possible.

**AN: How exactly did Arthur keep that dagger in his pants? *shrugs* You've got to know these things when you're a pirate. **

**Hope you liked your bit of yaoi you fangirls you.**

**There are hints of Hetalia in the trinkets and treasures~ Andfutureplotpoints~**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

_He was drowning again. Saltwater was everything. Taste. Smell. Feeling. Burning in all the wrong places. Air, he needed air but all he breathed was saltwater. His limbs scrambled for an anchor, some way out, but there was nothing but unresisting liquid. If only he could swim. If only he could scream…_

_Though they were burning from the salt his eyes looked down and saw the sandy bottom of the sea. There it was; that little green shell. Its call to him was greater than air. In all his frenzied panicking he reached out desperately, fingers grazing the rough- _

"Artie! Wake up!" Arthur jolted up with a start; nearly hitting the merman who just seconds ago was shaking him awake.

"You okay?" Alfred whispered softly, rubbing his back, "You were having a nightmare."

Arthur was staring at the blankets around him, bringing a shaking hand to wipe his sweaty brow. He didn't swat Alfred's hand nor did he grace him with his customary scowl but closed his eyes and tried to calm his racing heart. The dream…he could only remember snatches of it now, he was definitely drowning, and something about sand, "Could you…" Arthur swallowed, "Could you…get me some water?"

Alfred nodded and sprinted out, returning moments later with a mug of water. Unthinkingly, Arthur took the drink and said, "Thank you."

The merman froze. He stood there for a moment before he realized he was being rude, "You're welcome," he murmured shakily.

Alfred fetched some bread that Arthur accepted and slowly ate. They sat there in silence except for the sound of Arthur's steady chewing when Arthur suddenly spoke, not looking at the merman, "Why aren't you eating?"

"I've already eaten."

"Well it's bloody uncomfortable."

Alfred rubbed the back of his neck, "If it bothers you too much I'll eat with you. I just kinda thought you wouldn't want to see me pig out on raw fish." Arthur gave a noncommittal grunt and continued to eat.

Alfred stood up, "We're running out of water and we're out of seaweed so I'll go get some," he said, grabbing a bag and jumping into the water before Arthur could respond.

Still feeling the effects of the nightmare, Arthur was thankful for the solitude and the time to calm his thoughts. All he had to focus on was the mechanics of eating. Bring food up to mouth, take a bite. Chew. Swallow. Bite, chew, swallow. Something digging into his side. What? His hand searched and found the culprit, the small green shell. He glared at it, "Little bugger," _what is so important about you?_

Pocketing the shell he finished his bread and looked over to the pool. Any moment now a blonde head would pop out.

Nothing came.

Arthur heaved himself to his feet with a loud huff and gazed around the cave. His eyes spotted a wooden masthead that once belonged on the front of some destroyed ship. It was leaning against the wall in the form of an angel. Arthur was almost entranced as he walked closer. She was a woman, bigger than Arthur himself, with long flowing hair and wings instead of arms spread out like she was in mid-flight. At closer inspection he could see her serene face and the paint eroded bt the water it was almost non-existent. He wondered if the ship was already sunk or if it was afloat when it was taken by Alfred.

Arthur counted seven other mastheads, four women, a dragon, an eagle, and an ancient front that had no figure but was beautifully carved in the likeness of cresting waves. None of them were from the _Black_ _Britannia,_ no short curly haired woman scantily clad and carrying an olive branch (something that gave the crew a good laugh). He cursed himself for even thinking of it, there was no doubt that there was nothing left of the ship besides broken planks of wood and tangled rope.

He was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of dripping water. Turning he saw Alfred getting out of the pool, barrel in one arm and bag of seaweed in the other, "I'm back!" Alfred yelled as if Arthur didn't notice his presence.

"Get some clothes on, git," Arthur said, turning away with a small blush.

"Okay," Alfred put the barrel and bag down and went to fetch some clothes.

When the merman returned he was wearing both pants and a shirt. Arthur raised an eyebrow, "You're wearing a shirt? Are we expecting company today?"

Alfred laughed then froze, slapping a hand to his forehead, "Aww, _shiiiiit_. Today is _that_ day!" he hurriedly tore off his shirt and ran back into the tunnel.

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked and followed the merman into the cavern.

Alfred was digging through glass bottles amassed by the rum barrels, "Well, you're right, someone is coming over."

"You mean another siren?"

"Yeah and you don't have to be in the cave with him if you don't want to. Now that I think about it that'd probably be best. He promised not to eat you or anything but you never know with this guy. Aha!" he pulled out three rectangular bottles, "Either way you'll be fine; I'll protect you!"

Arthur frowned at him in return and followed him out of the tunnel, "I'm not afraid of something that can't get out of a pool without crawling."

Alfred smiled, "Thought you'd say that," the merman walked over to the side of the pool to the silver and gold chess set, crouching by the former. Placing the glass bottles on the floor, he scrutinized the pieces, turning his head from side to side, "Hey, you haven't moved these have you?"

Arthur shook his head, "No, I have not."

The merman breathed a small sigh of relief and returned his gaze to the pieces, now contemplative, "Good to hear, wouldn't want an angry Russian on my hands."

"Russian?"

"Yeah, he used to live in a sea or something by Russia. Moved to these waters 'cause the ones by Russia were too cold or something. Want anything to drink?"

"Rum if you please," Arthur said and watched Alfred walk back into the tunnel. _A Russian merman?_ Arthur tired to imagine the concept and turned.

Arthur was suddenly bombarded by the sight of a pale, ashen-haired merman staring back at him from the pool. Shocked, he stepped back. The siren did nothing, only watching him with eerie violet eyes. Curiously he wore a long scarf around his neck; even though Alfred had given him the impression that merfolk did not wear clothing. For a few seconds they just stared, green and violet. Slowly a smile grew on the merman's face, small and childlike. Something about it gave the man goose bumps, "So you are Alfred's little домашнее животное?"

Arthur blinked in surprise. The voice that came from the rather large merman was soft and, like his smile, childish. Before the man could register the comment or respond another voice piped up behind him, "Ivan! You big lug, how you doin?"

Alfred strode over to the pool, handing Arthur his drink as he passed. Ivan broke his ominous gaze from Arthur to look at Alfred, "Good, Fredka. And you?"

Alfred smiled and sat down on his side of the chess set, "Great! Ready to royally lose?"

Ivan just gave a creepy giggle and swam to the opposite side of the ivory box and grabbed one of the bottles. Arthur saw a flash of a grey, white speckled tail as he did so. The merman looked over to Arthur and said something in a language he didn't understand. The words were lost on him but Arthur could still hear the demeaning tone in the merman's voice, like the gibberish the Russian said to him a minute previous. Alfred frowned and (to Arthur's immense surprise) responded in the same language quickly before saying, "English, Ivan. That's not nice to Artie."

"Arthur," said man stressed. Ivan glanced over at him with a small smile that felt more threatening than any glare Arthur had ever seen.

Another creepy giggle, "I am very happy to see that you haven't moved any of the pieces, Alfred."

"Psh, like I need to."

"Your turn, correct?"

"Hell yeah!" Alfred eagerly moved a pawn and the game continued. Arthur watched from a distance but for the most part he observed the playful banter between the two sirens. They exchanged insults easily, neither getting angry though Ivan always wore his threatening smile. Arthur, in the nicest of terms, did not like Ivan. The violet-eyed (really that unnatural color was freaking him out) merman never so much as frowned at him, quite the opposite. But there was both an air of condescension and an almost ghostly aura coming from him. Alfred didn't seem to notice, chatting and smiling like the idiot he was.

"I'm surprised Alfred," Ivan said as he moved a knight, "You haven't indulged on your little…treat."

Arthur fumed. Alfred's smile turned at the edges, "Heroes don't do that."

Ivan's smile widened, "And heroes abduct others? But never mind that, I am impressed with your self control; I did not think you had any," Ivan moved a pawn closer to Alfred's golden king, "Check, da?"

"Yeah, yeah," Alfred took the pawn with his bishop almost impassively, "I don't care what you or anyone else thinks."

Ivan nodded in thought and moved another piece, "Your father disapproves your lodging and company."

A golden knight, the last one on the board, moved forward, "I don't care much for royalty."

A silver rook slid to the side, "You are royalty."

Alfred rolled his eyes, "Like anything about me is royal," Arthur couldn't agree more, "So how're the sisters doin? Still as busty and psychotic as ever?"

For the first time Ivan gave a little glare, "Natalia is fine. And fit. Chased me halfway across the Atlantic." Ivan took one of the

Alfred shivered, "Don't pity you there bud. What about Kat?"

"Katysha…" Ivan picked up one of the bottles Alfred had brought in, uncorked it, then took a long draught, "She is not faring well. At the rate she is going I fear…the worst."

"You mean the curse still isn't broken? Damn shame," Alfred took the bottle from Ivan and took a drink. Arthur began to think this was a common practice. There was a moment of silence before a smile cracked on Alfred's face as he moved a bishop, "And that's check mate."

Ivan raised a brow and looked over at his king, "Yes, indeed it is." Arthur looked over as well and to his shock confirmed that Alfred did win.

Alfred jumped into the air, pumping his fist, "Booyah! What's that, twenty-five out of forty-eight?"

"You are mistaken the score is twenty-four out of fifty," Ivan corrected, "Twenty-four wins, twenty-six losses." It blew Arthur's mind away to think that the idiot could win just one game. Hell, he didn't think the idiot had the brain capacity to play chess. The Russian was obviously not an airhead, and even with the losing statistics Arthur could tell it was impressive that Alfred had won twenty four games against the other siren.

"Hey! Two of those 'losses' were not conclusive!"

"Only because you flipped the table when you were about to lose."

Alfred rolled his eyes and began to arrange the pieces, "Yeah, sure." Both sirens reached for one of the pieces lying to the side at the same time, knocking a silver rook over. Alfred desperately reached for it but the piece slipped through the tips of his fingers and fell into the pool, "Damn."

"I will get it," Ivan said but Alfred stopped him.

"No, it's probably fallen into another tunnel and it's pretty easy to get lost around here so I'll go," Alfred stripped his pants off, "Don't do anything weird to Arthur when I'm gone. I mean it," Alfred said with some force.

Ivan just stared up at him smiling and nodded. Taking that as a good enough promise, Alfred dove into the pool. As soon as the merman's blue tail was out of sight, Ivan turned back to the chess set. He delicately put the pieces in their places, humming a song with a beautiful yet haunting melody. Arthur, meanwhile, sat on his blankets feeling terribly awkward, looking around for something to distract himself. He settled on observing the gold at his feet, messing with the coins with his toes but was shortly interrupted by a chilling voice, "You are a lucky one, da?"

Arthur looked up at the merman still arranging the pieces. He willed himself to glare at Ivan and show no fear, "Oh, I don't know. That's only if you consider being shipwrecked and held captive as 'lucky'."

Ivan only giggled, "The mere fact that you are still alive is all the luck in the world, капитан."

"I highly doubt that Alfred is the type of merman that would kill me."

The siren cocked his head, "You do not know much of merfolk, little boy, or of Alfred. My kind only feels one emotion towards humans: lust. A lust for food or the lust for…pleasure," Ivan gave the closest thing to a smirk that Arthur had seen all day, "Even now I see you as little more than a snack," Ivan licked his lips. Arthur held back a shiver as violet eyes scanned his body with disgusting intentions.

Ivan's eyes returned to the captain's face and rested his head in the palm of his hand, "But you are too skinny for my tastes and I'd rather not have Alfred annoyed with me. Alfred, no matter how nice he may seem, is the same way. For that reason I am surprised at your good health."

Arthur steeled himself, "Alfred is not like you."

Another giggle. Arthur wanted to scream _stop it_, "Do you even know him? Do you know of his age or the nature of his family? Do you know the ships he has destroyed, the men he has killed? Tell me, does he leave often and never eat around you? Ask for small things, perhaps a kiss?"

Arthur couldn't help the thoughts Ivan brought to his mind, the automatic yes's and no's of his questions. And the blush that was a dead giveaway, a mix of anger and embarrassment from the last question. Ivan watched the speechless human with a look of amusement, "I wonder when Fredka will crack. I eagerly wait for the day that he does; when he breaks your body or devours it completely…"

Silence. The words hung heavy in the air. Ivan was unaffected, happily waiting for Alfred while flipping his gray tail. Arthur tried to return to the gold but ended up trying to rein his thoughts from the nightmarish places they were traveling to. It was in that moment that Alfred emerged from the water, holding the gleaming rook high, "Got it! Man this place is deep. I swear I had to swim down this cave that was twenty ships lengths deep to reach it," smiling, he ran a hand through his hair in a fruitless attempt to tame the cowlick standing proudly at his forehead.

Ivan smiled back at him and took the rook, "I believe it's time for me to leave. I'd hate to overstay my welcome," he said as he put the rook in its rightful place.

"Alright! Okay, Arthur I'm going to escort this big guy out of here and then I'll be-Arthur?" Alfred's brilliant smile faltered and was replaced with a worried frown at the sight of Arthur.

Before Alfred could ask any more his attention was diverted by Ivan with a tap on the shoulder and a slightly impatient, "Alfred?"

"Oh, okay," Alfred turned back to Arthur with a quick smile, "I'll be back real quick Arthur, don't worry," and with that the two sirens disappeared under the water.

Alone in the now quiet cave Arthur shivered and pulled a blanket around himself as he walked over into the neighboring cavern. Crouching down by the dying fire he grabbed a long piece of wood and worked on rekindling the flames. He huddled closer to the revived fire and stared into the flickering flames and lost himself in his thoughts.

It seemed eons later when Alfred returned, "Artie?" he called and looked into the cavern, "Hey there dude! You okay? Sorry, that guy can be a creep sometimes."

Arthur gave a weak nod. Oblivious, Alfred accepted it as a sign he was okay and sat on the opposite side of the fire, "Yeah, we used to be arch enemies; hated each other's guts and all. Couldn't help but to hate him for being such a psychotic freak show…" Alfred sighed at the memories, "Things are better now, our fights are only verbal and over a chessboard. It's been a few weeks since our last physical fight," Alfred laughed.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Arthur asked, "And his sister?"

"Well he has two, Nat is worse than her brother in the insanity department. But Kat is a nice girl when you get past her ginormous," Alfred made a motion towards his chest with a small laugh but his face fell, "She fell in love with a human. And desperate for his love she went to a sea witch to get her legs, like me. But…she made a mistake, swam to the wrong cove, took the wrong current because she went to a different witch than the one I went to, an evil one that cursed her. '_Get this human to fall in true love with you before the new moon and you will become human. If not, you will die, killed by the man you so fawn over_,'" Alfred sighed, "From what I hear she's hooked up with the guy but he only lusts for her body and it's nothing close to true love."

Alfred looked at the flames with an uncommon amount of sadness and as Arthur looked at him he found Ivan's questions resurfacing. Unable to stop himself he blurted out, "How old are you?"

The siren looked surprised at the question then thoughtful, "I guess around 19 cycles," at Arthur's blank look he spoke up again, "Oh, don't know cycles don't you? In years I'd be…two hundred and thirty something."

Arthur's mouth dropped open, that was two whole centuries! The merman looked so young Arthur guessed he was in his late teens or early twenties. At that age he could be his great, great, great grandfather!

Alfred blushed and rubbed the back of his neck as he saw Arthur's reaction, "It's really not that old in my kind's terms. Maturity wise I'm about as old as you, younger actually. Please don't look at me like that!"

Arthur just shook his head and rubbed his forehead. Who could have known?

Ivan, his mind answered.

**AN: So sorry for the late chapter! I'm hoping to get into Rice and their early admissions are due this Tuesday so I've been working on essays lately. Not to mention my new USUK fic that you guys should totally read-*shot* Hopefully this longer chapter with Ivan makes up for it.**

**The idea of America and Russia playing chess together is not mine but I can't help but to looove it. And the relationship between the two? *squeals* Hopefully you could pick out how Ivan is jealous of Alfred's attention and in response lashes out at Arthur, hoping he would be devoured so he can have Alfred's attention once again. (yes I am a Russamer fan but this won't turn into that kind of fic)**

**I always never do it enough but THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! I don't think I got respond to all y'alls reviews because of time but please know that I cherish all of them. Reviews, constructive criticism on this chapter would be GREATLY appreciated (:**

**EDIT: Forgot the translations!**

**домашнее животное- Pet I believe, I'm sorry I don't really know Russian**

**капитан-Captain**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Hetalia. I am but a poor, moneyless highschooler who is practicing her writing skills in cheesy fanfiction. Please support Hetalia by buying their books and DVD's and reading Hima's amazing online comics.**

Arthur could only guess that a few days had passed. There was not a ray of sunshine in the cave to let him know if it was night or day.

A few things remained constant. The nightmares continued to plague his nights and he always woke up gasping for air and clutching the green shell for dear life. Ivan's words were a constant echo in his mind. It was much like Alfred's brother's had and Arthur often wondered if the voices of sirens were magical in that they never quite left one's mind. As much as he hated it, Ivan's words made him nervous at the smallest of things Alfred would do; when he mentioned being hungry, when he so much as walked in his direction, when Arthur would catch him staring...

In strange twist Ivan had made that human curiosity in Arthur's mind grow like a parasitic growth, fixated on the blue-tailed merman. On occasion Arthur would give into the temptation and ask questions (not too much, he didn't want to seem like he wanted to hear anything from the siren). Gradually he came to know Alfred a bit more. The boy (compared to mermen at least) had a hero complex, a younger brother that Arthur always forgot the name of, had swum around the world twice, wanted to fly, hated the cold, and loved anything sweet.

For Arthur's sake and contrary to Ivan's warnings Alfred began to eat with Arthur. It was a messy sight to be honest. Sometimes Alfred cooked the large swordfish or dolphin (the fish) he would catch but more often than not he was too impatient to wait for the meat to fully cook and ate the fish raw. He ate every part of the fish as well, all except for the bones. Arthur couldn't quite get used to the way Alfred's teeth would seem to sharpen and his incisors elongate when he ate. Yet another reminder of what Alfred really was, a predator, a hunter, a killer with a certain taste for human flesh…

One of the toughest realities Arthur had to face was the treasure. Arthur loved it, loved gold, jade, pearls, rare and expensive artifacts so that when he first saw the cave it was a private heaven. But, as time passed, he slowly realized it was not so. Alfred had gathered the gold and trinkets because they had interested him, held some significance or captured his curiosity. What Arthur came to realize was that he loved treasure for its value, for the money it gave him. In other words, the gold was worthless. Arthur was stuck in the cave, who knows how many feet underwater, with a horde of treasure that he couldn't hold save for a few handfuls. The grandeur of the horde before him quickly faded from Arthur's eyes and the gold did not seem to glitter as pretty anymore. Instead the man began to search for the items with little value, hoping to find some entertainment out of it.

"Why do you have a belt buckle?" he asked one day, holding up the rusty square, "You obviously don't use it."

Alfred looked up from the fire he was cooking fish over, "That? Got it from the Western Shores…you'd call them the Americas. People there wore them on their shoes and hats. I took it as a little souvenir. Lived in the waters there for awhile, loved it there and the people." That at least explained the strange accent.

But of all things, what Arthur couldn't stand was Alfred's lack of clothing. The man could stand it after a few days but he continually found himself more and more uncomfortable with the merman's unclothed torso. "Would you mind putting a shirt on?" he asked angrily, "You put one on before Ivan came, why can't you do it now?"

Alfred pouted and crossed his arms, "It's a hassle to take it off and on. Not to mention it's practically a sin to cover up this," he pointed to his rather muscular chest, "No merman would be caught dead in a shirt; it's a travesty that I'm even wearing pants."

"That's no excuse. As a human I find it very improper and in the company of a human you should follow human etiquette."

"Well, aren't you in the presence of a merman so shouldn't you be following my rules? You've been wearing that same shirt for weeks; you should at least change," seeing Arthur's face he continued even stronger, "What? Scared to show a little skin? It's not like I haven't seen it all before."

Arthur backed away from the advancing merman, "I-I'll change but only when you're out of the room," he grabbed a shirt, holding it like a shield, "_You_ should get a shirt on."

"_You_ should get it off!" Alfred pounced and they both tumbled down (thankfully) onto the blankets, struggling with each other's clothes. They became so absorbed in their squabble that they did not notice two blonde heads emerge from the water not ten feet from them.

That is, not until one of the newcomers started to laugh suggestively, "_Ohonhonhon_, are we…interrupting something?"

The two looked over to see two long haired sirens, one which was looking at them with a smirk, the other, rather invisible in comparison, blushing profusely. It was only at the sight of the knowing look on the blue eyed siren's face that they looked at their compromising position. Arthur looked up to see Alfred looming over him, shirtless and panting slightly. Alfred looked down to see Arthur pinned below him, looking ruffled with his ripped silk shirt.

The two quickly pushed away from each other and blushing with the violet-eyed blonde.

"It's not what it looks like!"

"-stop bloody staring!"

They spoke at the same time, one looking bashful, and the other angry. Arthur was the first to recover, recognizing the two, "You're the frog that sang to us! And you're…"

"Matthew," the bashful merman sighed.

"Ohonhon, you remember me, _capitaine_?" the French merman raised a brow.

Arthur couldn't help but to feel an absolute loathing toward him, "Not fondly," he grimaced.

Alfred by this time had recovered and glared at the siren, "Francis…" he growled.

"Please, do not presume I am here for your appetizer. I am only here to accompany Mathieu," Francis flamboyantly waved to Matthew.

Arthur had forgotten about the very quiet copy of Alfred. Alfred visibly brightened at the sight of his twin, "Hey bro! Whatcha doin here?"

Matthew smiled nervously, "I-I'm just checking up on you guys. Are you doing okay Arthur? Al's been feeding you right?"

Arthur nodded and responded a little bitterly, "As good as I can get for a hostage I suppose."

"I'm really sorry for my idiot brother," Matthew said with a rueful smile.

"Hey! Don't talk like I'm not here!"

Francis laughed, "Like we could forget you and your scene moments ago. Tell me, is that a regular occurrence? Have you-?"

"Al," Matthew quickly interrupted before the questions could get out of hand, "Could you and Francis leave so I can speak to Arthur alone for a bit?"

"Aww and here I was thinking you came over to see me. Do I have to leave you?" Alfred whined.

"Don't complain, you owe me and you know it."

Heaving a large sigh Alfred stepped out of his pants and into the water, "Okay. Don't do anything too tricky Mattie. Behave Artie ("Oh whatever")" he turned to Francis and grabbed his arm, "Come on Frenchie, I know this awesome underwater spring we can visit. No bad touching, got it?" and with another _Ohonhon_ they both disappeared below the water.

Matthew stared at the water until deeming it safe, turned to Arthur, "I really am sorry," he said, "I would have said more but Alfred, for all his immaturity, can be pretty intimidating."

"Intimidating? He's an idiot," Arthur huffed.

"He might be that but he's also the strongest merman in existence," Matthew sighted, "The dolt doesn't even know it himself. I can't tell you how scary it was to see him playing with his pet whale," he shivered.

Arthur blinked his eyes at the mental image, "I don't suppose that has anything to do with his heritage? You are his twin, correct? Doesn't that mean you also have abnormal strength?"

Matthew looked uncomfortable at the turn of the conversation, "While Alfred has great strength he has little to no magical ability. I'm kind of his opposite..."

"You can use magic? Can you get me out of here?" Arthur asked excitedly.

At the questions Matthew's expression darkened, "No, even with my ability it would be impossible. It was a miracle Alfred got you in here. You should have been crushed by the pressure and drowned."

Arthur paled, "Are you saying…I'm going to die here?"

Hastily the siren shook his head, "I'll make sure that doesn't happen. Alfred is a nice guy at heart, he just needs to get past his stubbornness and listen to the voice of reason. Give it some time and I'm sure he'll come around to letting you go."

"How long do you suppose that would be?"

Matthew rubbed the back of his head, "A few years or so…"

Arthur groaned. Just his luck. At the mention of it he remembered a certain merman's words, "Umm, Matthew? Is there any possibility of Alfred…cracking?"

"What do you mean?" Matthew asked him.

"Oh you know…," Arthur squirmed inwardly, "him eating me or doing something…bad."

To Arthur's horror the siren paled, "Where did you get that idea?"

"The merman Ivan."

Matthew looked to the side almost ruefully, "Ivan has a rather bleak look of everyone. But Alfred…I thought he was keeping you here at first for less than moral reasons but now I don't think so. The way I see it, if Alfred hasn't done anything by now, he won't do anything at all."

The soft spoken merman's word's made Arthur feel a little better, lessening the weight of Ivan's words, "Thank you," he murmured.

"I think they're coming back," Matthew looked down at the water, "Just hang on okay? I'll be sure to come back and check on you. If you are in desperate need of help throw a flower into the water and ask for the sea witch Eliza but only do so as a last resort, all sea witches ask for payment. And if Alfred is just giving you a hard time, tell him a ghost story, he's scared to death of them."

_Ghost stories, eh? _Arthur thought when two blonde heads became visible below the water. Before Matthew could explain or Arthur ask about the strange advice the two siren's popped out of the water, "Hey, Mattie! Done talking to Arthur?" The man winced at the sudden increase in volume.

"Yes, we'll get out of your hair now," Matthew said with a small smile.

"What, already? Aren't you guys going to tell us what you talked about?"

"Oui, please, do tell," Francis said with another suggestive smirk.

"That is none of your business," Arthur spat.

Matthew grabbed Francis and started to pull him under, saying quickly, "Arthur's right. We need to go. See you Al, Captain Arthur," Arthur nodded and Alfred enthusiastically waved and said goodbye. All that was left were disappearing ripples.

* * *

><p>Armed with new information and determined to get back for all the treatment he had been receiving, Arthur decided to enact his small amount of revenge that night.<p>

It all started with a good natured smile, "Hey Alfred, would you mind keeping me company? I'll let you go when I'm ready to sleep."

They had just finished dinner and Alfred was about to depart like he always did until Arthur spoke up. Alfred literally froze in shock. It was too much for his mind to process: the smile, the happy tone, Arthur had actually called him by his _name_. To anyone with an ounce of self-preservation, those would have been foreboding signs. To Alfred of course, what had come up was a blank, "….Uh….What?"

Arthur laughed. _Laughed_. "Come one Alfred, sit by me. I won't bite," he said, patting the spot next to him.

Still shell-shocked, Alfred walked over and plopped down. For the first time he was speechless. Arthur, almost bouncing with giddiness, slapped a hand to the merman's thigh making him jump, "Alfred do you mind telling me how you came by that?" he pointed to a mast head, the old one without a figure.

Reflexively Alfred smiled enthusiastically, "Oh yeah! Got it off this shipwreck I found in a reef. Cool ain't it?"

Arthur nodded, ignoring the butchering of English, "Indeed. In fact, I actually know the ship it came from."

"Really?"

"Yes. That was the proud masthead of the ghostly Bloody Phantom. A pirate ship."

"P-phantom?" Oh, he was going to enjoy this.

"The Bloody Phantom," Arthur sighed and continued in his best ghost-story-telling voice, "Now I don't know if you know this but to not have a figure on the front of your ship, be it a woman or dragon, is terrible luck. But this pirate ship had a way to counter such luck, by strapping _live people onto it_. They would string up a prisoner or a maiden (virgin most likely) or a mutineer to that there wood and make a live masthead."

Alfred's eyes widened. Arthur spoke barely above a whisper, "Eventually the waves would pound the people to death or they would starve but the crew didn't take the bodies down, no, they just tightened the ropes and left them there, rotting away down to bones and rags. And when everything was washed away by the waves the pirates would find another victim to string up and the process would begin all over again."

"Wow," Alfred squeaked.

"That isn't the end of it," Arthur smirked and leaned in, "Now as you can imagine, the mutilation of the bodies of these poor people and the matter of their death did not come without consequence. The people who died on that masthead were so traumatized and felt so wronged that their very spirits came back from the afterlife," Alfred gave another small, unintelligible squeak, "Even now their ghosts haunt that masthead, waiting for the day they can finally have their revenge…"

_Crack!_ Arthur looked up to see Alfred holding onto two pieces of a now broken masthead, "T-there." Alfred said shakily. He sounded like he was holding back a sob, "Now they aren't here anymore right?"

Arthur faked a gasp, "No! What have you done? Now you've made it worse! Now they will forever haunt _you_!"

A sob did escape Alfred's lips and he looked around for the non-existent spirits, "W-what do I do?"

"Hurry! Return the wood back to the ship from whence it came from! That's the only way to rid you of the curse!"

Not wasting a second, Alfred ran into the pool, not even bothering with his pants. Arthur watched trying not to laugh when Alfred's blue tail thrashed in the water as it tried to rid itself from the confines of the trousers. It was when the pants flew across the cave and the tail disappeared that Arthur burst out laughing. Oh, revenge had never been sweeter. He really did owe Alfred's brother for the golden piece of intelligence.

When his guffaws subsided into low chuckles Arthur lay down and covered himself in velvet blankets. Might as well get some well deserved rest; who knew when the merman would return? He then proceeded to descend into the sweetest sleep he had in weeks.

* * *

><p>His sweetest sleep was disturbed all too soon.<p>

"Arthur! Arthur!" the familiar voice whispered loudly.

"What?" Arthur mumbled, groggily and still half asleep.

"C-can I sleep with you? To protect you from the spirits?" Alfred asked, fear evident on his voice.

Arthur was suddenly much more awake, "What? No! Go sleep where you usually do…"his words trailed away and he lay back down and closed his heavy eyes.

"Don't fall asleep! _Please_ Arthur! I promise I won't annoy you again!"

"Fine!" the man gave an annoyed sigh, "Just let me get some blasted sleep already."

Alfred quickly slipped into the blankets and pressed himself against Arthur (Arthur hoped to God that the merman had put on some clothes). Thankfully Alfred had dried himself off but Arthur still suppressed a shiver when he felt the merman's bare, feverish-like skin. _Too close!_ Arthur's mind screamed and the uncomfortable feeling in his chest grew as Alfred scooted even _closer_. Arthur was very tempted to push him away but he was too tired to do so.

Closing his eyes, Arthur felt sleep slowly pulling him under.

"_Don't fall asleep!"_

So much for revenge.

**AN: SO SORRY FOR THE LATE CHAPTER! I probably lost some readers just from the time it took for me to update this… All I can say is that I had soooo much homework. 6 AP classes can do that to ya -_-. If anyone deserves thanks for this update it's Threnna for getting me off my butt this morning and getting to work. To make it up to you guys I'll update Wednesday a well.**

**GhostStory!England was fun to write :3 as well as PissedInHisPants!America. The scary story is mine too haha, hope you found it enjoyable as well.**

**THE NEXT CHAPTER IS MY FAVORITE OF THIS WHOLE STORY! *spazzes* I can't wait for you guys to read it. In the meantime please review! I'm sorry for not replying to many reviews on the last chapter but seeing as I have a week off of school I should have plenty of time to reply! (And I will post the translations to Ivan's Russian for the last chapter as one reviewer pointed out that I had forgot) **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own HETALIA**

More time passed and Arthur did not try to scare Alfred again lest he face another sleepless and rather awkward night and morning when Arthur woke up in Alfred's arms. Alfred, thankfully, made no mention of it and acted as if it never happened afterward. The only change in him that Arthur could see was maybe a more tolerable attitude, nothing more.

He really didn't know why he agreed to the chess game.

"So…What's your family like?" Alfred asked as he moved a gold pawn.

Arthur didn't look up from the board, "Like I would know. I haven't seen them for ten years," he said as he fingered an invisible beard.

"Well, what _do_ you remember?"

"Mum was a good cook. Father was never around. Brothers treated me like shit," he grimaced then moved a rook. Another golden pawn was added to the growing pile.

"Ouch," Alfred winced, "Was your mom nice at least?"

"She was a stern woman but not unkindly. In my memories she always carried herself with great dignity and poise."

Alfred gave a chuckle, "Sounds like someone I know," he moved a knight to the side, one of his lat pieces, "Do you miss her? Or your brothers?"

Arthur allowed a small sigh to pass his lips, "I used to. But time has passed and I have grown accustomed to the loss. No that's not right…detached. I have grown detached to them. Do not look at me that way! I am perfectly fine or I was perfectly fine with my crew, not like you helped."

"Well, why didn't you try to find them? Your family and stuff? You had a ship."

Arthur glared at the merman sprawled out on the floor, "Do you _mind_? I would rather not discuss my personal matters with you. How about you? Your mother, brother, father? Have any drama? Perhaps some murder or maybe adultery? Do tell!"

Even though he was lying down, Alfred looked cornered, "Well, uh…My mom…It's really not that interesting."

"Humph, it is just like you to pry in other people's business while not even divulging a sentence of your own," he smirked and moved a piece, claiming yet another golden rook. He really was expecting more of a fight but here he was with practically the entire board claimed. He'd have to challenge Ivan to a game; it seemed clear now that the Russian was not as intimidating as he seemed seeing as how he had lost to Alfred. "If I remember correctly, your father is the Ruler of the Seas, am I right?"

Alfred nodded awkwardly, "Yeah."

"Wouldn't that make you a prince of sorts? A crown prince maybe?"

The frown on the merman's face deepened, "Yeah, in human terms I guess I'd be a crown prince. Next in line and whatever."

Arthur moved the queen in position next to the king, "You don't seem too happy about that. What's there to not like about being next in line to the throne? I would imagine it would be an enjoyable position. Check mate by the way"

"Not quite, "Alfred said and simply moved his king forward, taking the silver queen, "Being a prince is dumb. When people hear about it they don't look at you the same way. And there are so many restrictions. I don't want it at all."

Cursing himself for making such a stupid move, Arthur angrily moved a bishop. No matter, he had enough pieces to swamp that blasted king, "Tch, I do not see the problem with a little respect and a few boundaries. Look what it gets you, wealth and power, what else do you need?"

Alfred raised an eyebrow and moved his last pawn, "I thought you loved being a pirate not a prince."

"What is the point of such a job if you do not gain wealth and power from it? I love pirating, yes, but to be a king…I would gladly trade my vocation for such a position."

Shaking his head, Alfred moved his last pawn toward the cluster protecting the king, "You don't get it. Let me put it in your language. Imagine sailing the sea when one day people stop you and say that just because you are alive you much work at a dock. Now this dock is the most beautiful one in the world and thousands of the most important people in the world use it and they all have to pay _you_. You are rich. You can deny anyone docking, send them to jail for false violations. You have power. Sounds great? Good, you will have this 'amazing' job your entire life. _However_, there is one catch; you will never be able to leave the dock again. No more sailing, no more pirating, no more adventure. The only sea you will get is that which you can see from where you stand from the dock. And day after day you will watch beautiful ships dock on your property and you will never be able to get on them. No, you will take care of those ships and watch them sail away. Now tell me Arthur, how does that sound? Is that the dream you are pursuing so fervently?"

Overwhelmed by the highly detailed, thoughtful, and potent scenario, Arthur could only give a muttered, "Sure," as he moved a guarding pawn to capture the last remaining gold pawn.

Alfred moved his bishop to the far side of the board, "Being a king is no different. It does not hold any appeal to me. I just want my freedom. Check mate."

Arthur looked down in shock at the board to see that Alfred was right. The bishop had a diagonal path right to the silver king from the hole created by his last move. The kind was fenced in by his other pieces and was unable to move anywhere but closer to its death. "What…?" Arthur didn't know what to make of it until he realized what Alfred would do about it. Laugh in his face, just like Ivan.

No such thing happened. Arthur looked over to see Alfred now gathering the pieces, looking oddly thoughtful. It was then that Arthur came to comprehend Alfred's intelligence, maybe even genius. Like the chess game Alfred allowed himself to look stupid, allowed himself to lose pieces, or get caught in a net and tossed into a tank. In doing so he allowed his opponent to think lowly of Alfred and highly of himself. He would continue this, skirting around any opportunities to show signs of intellect until he found opportunity of when it really mattered, a check mate, or a crushing wave. His opponent would ultimately lose.

Arthur watched Alfred sort the pieces and arrange time in their correct starting places. All the while Arthur cursed himself again for not seeing what Alfred was doing and cursed the sick bastard that Alfred had turned out to be. _He really has this all down_, Alfred noticed his stare and looked up, no longer thoughtful but back with an innocent cocked-head-puppy expression, "Arthur?"

_Or does he_?

Arthur looked straight into his eyes and with and indistinguishable expression asked, "Is this my dock, Alfred?"

Alfred froze, eyes wide as he looked at Arthur. A minute passed before the merman looked away and put the last piece on the chess board. Without another word and without making eye-contact, Alfred left, barely making a ripple in the pool.

Arthur supposed this was small victory. But a hollow one.

* * *

><p>Arthur could feel his spirit breaking. He missed the sun, the salty spray, the warm breeze, the stars. The cave had nothing to offer him, only cold and the fake rays of the torches on the walls. He was sick of both. He never knew how much he loved sunlight, he longed for it now like food. The absence of light sucked the healthy tan from his skin, made him look almost ghostly. The lack of these things alone made him want to beg to be let out. But not yet, he still had to keep that small ounce of pride.<p>

He had already given up his verbal fight with Alfred. Ignoring the fact that he was the one who was holding Arthur hostage, the merman was not unbearably annoying. Arthur had somehow gotten used to his presence. Alfred certainly was a chatterbox, when he wasn't gone. Sometimes Arthur would hear his words taper off and he would turn to see Alfred staring at him with a strange expression.

The treasure hadn't crossed his mind once in this time. Arthur did not entertain himself anymore, he just lay there in his blankets, sleeping or thinking. Alfred seemed to think something was wrong and tried to get the man out of the sheets so that the man would do something but Arthur waved him off with steadily weakening hands. It fit Arthur that his body should waste away along with his spirit.

He supposed that it was because of this he began to sing. How long had it been? Five years, maybe longer… It was a sad song, one that came naturally, even if the words came out shaky and unpracticed. But as he repeated the first verse the notes seemed to smooth over and the words easily. His voice was a nice one, echoing throughout the cave as if he were singing in some great hall…

_As I was a walking down in Stokes Bay__**  
><strong>__I met a drowned sailor on the beach as he lay__**  
><strong>__And as I drew nigh him, it put me to a stand.,__**  
><strong>__When I knew it was my own true Love__**  
><strong>__By the marks on his hand.__**  
><strong>_

He paused for breath when suddenly he heard a voice behind him, startling him out of his revere. Not only the presence of the voice behind him but the quality of the voice that surprised him. Deep, rich, and unrecognizable, the beautiful sound surpassed the singing of the French siren that long time ago.

_As he was a sailing from his own dear shore__**  
><strong>__Where the waves and the billows so loudly do roar,__**  
><strong>__I said to my true Love, I shall see you no more__**  
><strong>__So farewell, my dearest, you're the lad I adore.__**  
><strong>_

Arthur turned to see a siren leaning out of the pool, staring at him with piercing eyes. Alfred. All questions of how impossible the situation was were lost along with all other thoughts as Arthur became enraptured by the siren's voice. Alfred looked back at him, eyes half-lidded and face taking on that serious expression that fit him so well. Arthur's legs carried him forward, eyes locked on that beautiful tan face. The third verse began and Arthur found himself mouthing the lyrics, afraid to take away from the splendor he was hearing. But then Alfred looked at him, without breaking the rhythm and Arthur knew he was asking him to sing. And Arthur obliged him.

_She put her arms around him, saying O! My dear!__**  
><strong>__She wept and she kiss'd him ten thousand times o'er.__**  
><strong>__O I am contented to lie by thy side.__**  
><strong>__And in a few moments, this lover she died.__**  
><strong>_

When his voice was added Alfred switched to harmony and his eyes practically glowed with a new intensity. Alfred inched closer as if Arthur was the siren. Suddenly Arthur was on his knees before him. His eyes appraised the body before him, the golden, muscled skin, the sapphire blue scales that slithered so smoothly, almost seductively through the water, the strong jaw, the not-so-dirty-blonde hair, but most of all those blue eyes staring back at him with liquid fire. Arthur leaned closer and closer, wanting to see more, more. Their lips touched. Logic told him that this was wrong; he should be pushing away, kicking, screaming. But his soul, his spirit, his heart, his feeling told him that this was the treasure he was searching for, what he wanted more of. So he pressed on.

Amazingly the song didn't stop, Alfred, through some magic or skill, still sang on as their lips moved against each other softly. Arthur was overwhelmed by it all; the slight taste of salt and the sweet seaweed Alfred often ate, that seeped through his lips. He closed his eyes and couldn't help but to give a small moan into those lips.

Had Arthur's eyes been opened he would have seen the merman's eyes darken, betraying his hunger. But all Arthur could feel was the lips around him work with new vigor and practically devour his own and the tongue that tasted him. The vibrations from his singing made him relax into arms that pulled him closer and closer…

_And all in the churchyard these two were laid,__**  
><strong>__And a stone for remembrance was laid on her grave,__**  
><strong>__My joys are all ended, my pleasures are fled,__**  
><strong>__This grave that I lie in is my new married bed._

Arthur pressed more insistently with him, feeling teeth and now sharpened incisors. Arthur's arms wrapped around and felt the taught muscles of the broad back. His fingers trailed over a thick and rugged line of skin, the scar from the glass of the tank. Arthur was immersed in water by now and was very aware of Alfred's tail wrapping around his legs before letting go to keep them afloat. Another moan escaped the man's lips and the merman became even more passionate, pulling the man completely underwater except for his head. Sharp teeth pressed into soft lips and Arthur flinched when they cut into the flesh there but relaxed when a tongue lapped up the red liquid hungrily.

Alfred's eyes flew open, realizing what he was doing. The singing stopped and Arthur's eyes opened slowly before widening with shock at the eyes so close to his. Alfred hurriedly pushed the man away, backing into the deeper water.

Arthur caught himself on the edge of the pool, speechless and still staring at Alfred with the same expression. His mind was still catching up with the situation. Alfred could still taste the blood on his tongue and feel his sharpened teeth. He had backed all the way to the wall of the cave by now and across from him he could see Arthur's expression that twisted his heart painfully.

He had to get out. "You…you sing good," he mumbled before diving underwater.

Arthur was still there on the edge an hour later.

* * *

><p>Arthur decided to get drunk.<p>

What was a better solution for the conflicting emotions raging in his chest and the embarrassing memories, and the best damn kiss he'd ever-no, no, no-_worst_ memory ever? There was nothing like forgetting yourself in a good bottle or twenty of rum.

So that's what he did. All of those barrels filed with good ole alcohol, all those barrels that needed emptying. He used an old sword to pop open the top of a one and disregarding all things proper dunked his whole head in and drank. And drank. And drank.

He didn't have to wait long for the rum to take effect. Arthur let out a sigh as the weight on his shoulders was replaced with giddiness. And the kiss…well, he was sure it was nothing some more rum couldn't handle.

Alfred came back when Arthur was wobbling on his feet and slurring his words and movements. The merman quietly walked into the cavern, looking like he was approaching a wild animal with a rueful frown on his lips.

Arthur called out from his spot leaning against the rum barrel as soon as he saw the merman, "Alfred! You damn…w-," he had trouble forcing the word from his mouth, "_wanker_."

Alfred looked down at the man, brows knitting in confusion, "Arthur? Are you drunk?"

"No! Wait…," Arthur's head looked up as he thought, "Yes! Of *hic* course I'm druuunk you daft fool! What else…what else would I be doing after that-that absolute…fiasco!"

The merman shuffled his feet uncomfortably, "Yeah…about that…I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Arthur threw his hands in the air, "You should be sorry! You *hic* you can sing? Do you like being so conniving? Tosser!" he swung out a fist like the merman wasn't across the room.

"No!" Alfred swallowed and lowered his voice, "I just didn't…didn't want you to like me just because of my voice. I wanted you to like me for me. And," Alfred blushed, "I only wanted _you_ to hear my singing."

For a moment the drunk was silent, the small part of his mind still working properly processing the words and feeling a little touched. But Alfred didn't see the blush on the already flustered drunk's face, "Well, you're still a bastard for subjecting such torture to me!" He felt something digging into his side, "Damn shell!" he yelled, grabbing the seashell and flinging it across the room.

Alfred's frown deepened and he walked over to the man, "Come on Arthur, you should be getting to bed."

"NO!" Arthur slapped the hands away, "I'm not-I'm not leaving here until you tell me why I'm here!"

Alfred grimaced, "I'm sorry but I can't-,"

"Stop! Stop! Stop! I can't! I can't! I can't! Why _can't_ you? I'm beginning to think that damned siren was right about you!"

"What siren?" Alfred asked almost angrily, "Who told you what?"

"Ivan, your sick bastard f-friend," Arthur slurred, "Said you wanted to do some vile thing to me. And from that debauchery earlier I'm beginning to think that wanker's right."

Alfred shook his head, "Damn, I'm sorry about him, he was wrong. Now come on-,"

"No! Tell me! Do you want to eat me? Or do you want to have me as some kind of…pleasure-giving object?"

"No!" Alfred said, "I just can't tell.."

"Then do, God dammit!" Arthur grabbed the merman's shoulders and pulled him closer, "I'm tired of being here, doing nothing! Eat me! Take me! Just put me out of my misery!" he shook Alfred staring desperately. Some sick part of his mind noted that unlike Francis, Alfred's attractiveness did not fade when he stopped singing.

Alfred made no move to remove the hands, just looked at Arthur with sad and regretful eyes, "You really think...I'd do that to you?" he whispered, "Do you really want that?"

Something in Arthur broke at that moment and his eyes filled with tears, "No…I-I don't want that," his arms dropped from the merman's shoulders and he collapsed onto the floor, clutching his sides, "No…no, no, no. I want…," he suddenly looked up at Alfred, tears streaming down his reddened face, "Please, let me go. Let me out of here! Please, I just want to go back to the sea, to the sun…the stars…please…"

Arthur supposed that it was then he passed out. Afterwards he could only remember vaguely the arms that scooped him up and carried him to his bed and the blankets wrapped around him with the upmost care. And he could only remember snatches of a hand slipping a little green shell into his trouser pocket and giving his head a small caress so soft it could have been mistaken for a breeze.

He did not remember the words whispered into his ear, "I love you."

**AN: I hope you found this chapter to your liking cause it's only going down from here XD **

**The song was called the **_Drowned Sailor_**. I think it fits pretty well.**

**Thanks for all the reviews last chapter! They gave me the energy to get this chapter in! Please review again!**


	12. Chapter 12

Amazingly, Arthur slept the clearest dream he had in years. Perhaps it was because it was not a dream but a long lost memory. The memory of the first time he drowned.

_It was a rare sunny day and the family had gathered at the beach. He ran out to the water, only to where it reached his torso so he would not have to swim. His eyes kept to the sands at his feet, searching for seashells and trinkets like they were priceless treasures. He didn't see how the current was furtively pulling him away from his family or his mother, in a rare bout of forgetfulness; gather the rest of her children to go inside to eat. Mind solely focused on finding that perfect seashell he traveled farther into the ocean._

_And then he saw it: the perfect shell. A small green one, just like his eyes. Overjoyed he reached for it, a little surprised at how quickly he hit the water. When he resurfaced he dipped the shell into the water to wash the grains of sand off of it then brought it to his face, looking up closely at the ridges and green hue and the small dark speckles. Finally he looked around him and jumped when seeing the level of water. When he looked even closer he could see something else in the waters, a shadow gliding closer toward him. His heart jumped when he recognized the shadow and the fin that stuck out of the surface. _

_Shark. _

"_Mom!" he called, voice cracking as he turned to see exactly how far from shore he was and the absence of his family. The fear that he felt at that moment was unlike any he had felt his entire life. He turned around to see the shadow even closer and the size of the creature, longer than him. Reflexively he took a step back. The sand below him shifted and he fell backwards into the water. Panic set in and he struggled violently, water rushing into his windpipe. He knew there was a carnivorous fish heading straight for him. In his had he still held the small green shell._

_Some part of his mind wouldn't let him die without seeing whatever would hit him and so his eyes peered through a small slit through his eyelids, ignoring the sting of salt. To his surprise the shark was not inches from him or heading toward him but fighting with another blurred, much larger fish, a creature maybe twice the shark's size. But before he could see the victor an agonizing darkness overcame him when he took another breath of water._

_He woke as his lungs coughed up the water trapped in his chest. All the energy was sapped from his body and he could only lay there, eyes closed as he caught his breath. Slowly he became aware of voices._

"_Really Al, what were you thinking? What are you thinking? A shark? Why couldn't you have let the human fend for itself? Now we have a human child on our hands."_

"_Come on Mattie, you know it would have been cruel to just leave 'im there! Besides, look how cute he is…"_

"_Alfred F. Jones, he is a _human_, not some dolphin you can take home with you. Do you know how pissed Dad will be if he heard about this? We'd be so-,"_

"_Like I give a damn about what he thinks. Jeeze, you're making it sound like I'm going to keep him as a pet or something." Through his muddled thoughts Arthur realized the two male voices were talking about him. With some effort he opened his eyes to see a man leaning over him, talking to someone behind his head. Two blue eyes glanced down and a dazzling smile turned to him, "You awake little dude?"_

"_He's awake?" the other voice squeaked then suddenly moved behind the blue-eyed man, "Can he see you?"_

"_Yep! Hey, how you doin human? Can you breathe?"_

_Before Arthur could nod his head the other voice spoke up, "Damn it Al! Don't talk to him! Move, let me take care of this!" Al was pushed out of the way until all Arthur could see was another blonde head and violet eyes, "Look at me, okay?" was the last thing he heard._

_Darkness came too soon._

"_Arthur! Arthur!" Arthur slowly woke realizing he was lying on the beach, the water hitting the bottoms of his feet. His head slowly turned to see his mother looking down at him._

"_Arthur!" she said in a scolding tone, "What are you doing lying down there? You could have drowned! Honestly, I've been searching for you for hours and I find you here, napping. What are you doing so far from our beach?"_

_Arthur didn't know nor did he remember the green shell he no longer held in his hand._

The next thing Arthur knew was the pain of a throbbing headache and someone shaking him lightly (though it felt like he was getting a very severe concussion with every movement). He gave a pained groan and weakly pushed away the hands that were shaking him awake.

"I'm sorry but I need you to wake up Arthur," the man cringed at the voice, his eye-lids squeezed down harder so he wouldn't have to see the face that belonged to it. If only he could sleep, if only hangovers didn't exist… He felt something press against his lips, "Swallow this Arthur, it'll make you feel better."

Whatever it was Arthur nearly bit off Alfred's fingers off to swallow it. The thing, some kind of pill most likely, was smooth and as Arthur felt it travel down his throat he snuggled into his blankets hoping to fall to sleep to escape his headache. But before he could get too comfortable something pulled him from the warm blankets and hoisted him into the air. As he was carried Arthur tried to open his increasingly heavy eyelids, "What-?" he mumbled but was cut off.

"Shhh, go to sleep. It will all be better in the morning," Arthur was too weak to do anything but follow the nice voice's instructions.

_Amongst the black of unconsciousness he heard an enchanted echoing voce whisper words into his ear._

_My gift to you_

_The reason for my absence_

_Magic will take you to port_

_No harm shall come to you_

It seemed seconds later to Arthur that he was on a hard floor and staring up at a very annoyingly bright sun.

It took a moment too register just what he was seeing before Arthur literally jumped up. Spinning around he saw a large sky, a bright sun, a ship… _Whoop_! Arthur yelled as he ran to the starboard side of the ship, then to the portside, feeling the salty breeze and looking down at beautiful, empty, blue waters. He could have wept but instead he ran all around the deck of the ship like a little boy, swinging from the ropes, excitedly climbing to the crow's nest and peering out of it exaggeratedly. He wore himself out silly, laughing as he fell to the wooden floorboards, out of breath and out of the burst of energy.

It was only when his heart had calmed down that he started to question how he had gotten there. He hadn't seen or heard Alfred or any other man on the ship for that matter. The ship… Slowly sitting up he observed the ship with experienced eyes. It was not a vessel he was familiar with, oak, very large, much larger than the _Black Britannia_, and rather new looking. Getting up he walked over to the back of the ship and peered down at the name engraved there. _Phantom's Bane_. He never heard the name before.

Unbidden the words he had heard while unconscious floated back to him. _My gift to you_…

No. It couldn't be. Arthur ran below deck, to every room. There was no one. When he came upon the biggest room, the storage room he gasped. The room was filled with treasure from the cave to the point that no one could stand in there comfortably. Arthur fell back against the wall behind him before running and sprinting to the front of the ship and looking down at the masthead. What he saw made him gasp: a woman with short curly hair, the _Britannia_'s masthead.

Was everything, the ship, the treasure…was it all from Alfred? But how was that possible? That would mean he planned it…

Arthur shook his head, that wasn't important; all that mattered was that he was free. Free. Arthur liked that word considerably more at that moment.

With is adequate free-time Arthur explored the ship. In the kitchen he found it stocked with food and water in the kitchen and guns and ammo in other rooms, and practically everything needed to run the ship for a few weeks. While he was expecting to run into complications into getting the ship to a port without any men (for a ship this size there needed to be a bare minimum of around ten men) there turned out to be no need to work. The ropes seemed to fall in place as if some wind compelled them to tangle into neat knots. He didn't even have to steer, the ship seemed to know where it was going while Arthur did not. Arthur could feel the magic in the ship, the words in his dreams only enforcing his certainty.

Without a crew to order or a ship to run, he stuck to sunbathing and leaning off the bow of the ship. The weather helped. It was perfect, only sun and nice fluffy white clouds that never darkened into storm clouds and a nice wind for the sails. Soon his pale skin began to turn red. He really didn't care.

In the days waiting to reach port (three to be exact) Arthur tried to distract himself while he lounged around. He once again was able to see his beloved stars and gleefully stayed up as long as he could, laying in the crow's nest watching them. As much as he enjoyed it, unwanted thoughts crept into his head, memories of a certain bumbling blonde.

"_Haven't you ever wondered what the moon's like?"_

"_Cheese of course, you git. What's more to wonder about?"_

"_Haha, maybe. Maybe someday we'll figure out how to get up there, on the moon."_

"_Get your head out of the water, that's impossible."_

He really tried to rid all thoughts of the siren with his newfound freedom, tried to stop thinking about how Alfred had given him the ship, promising safe passage, and how the real reason he was gone all those times was because he was rebuilding a ship for him, and how he was the one who saved him when he first drowned, and-no, he didn't want to think about it.

But even with his determination it still happened at night when he dreamt of a deep soothing voice and warm lips with a hint of salt, and warms hands exploring- He quickly woke up from those dreams, blushing a storm.

And there in his pocket he could feel the little shell, that damn, green shell. For some reason he couldn't bring himself to throw it away even though it brought about some memories he'd rather forget again. Instead he just occasionally (only occasionally, mind you) let his hand rest in his pocket and let the shell brush his fingers (not on purpose).

He cursed himself when he caught his eyes searching the sea with a cocked pistol for a serenading siren. He had expected to feel totally liberated and light from his freedom and he did, for a short while but now even free he felt an uncomfortable tug in his chest. He refused to acknowledge it but it kept popping up in ways he couldn't ignore. Quite possibly the worst incident was the morning he woke to a screech and he ran out in nothing but trousers, expecting a voice to say "I'm liking the show Artie! Take off the pants next!" (damn his imagination). But instead he found a seagull flying around the mast. He promptly shot the blasted bird out of the sky.

He arrived at the port an hour later.

**AN: Ugh after such an awesome chapter I give you this…boringness. Please forgive me. I promise that it will get better than this. **

**THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE REVIEWS FOR LAST CHAPTER! 12 GUYS 12 REVIEWS! You have no idea how much it meant to me (': Could y'all keep up the feedback? It's the reason I update quickly (and my new laptop).**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Matthew found him in an empty span of ocean, petting his rather large mammal, Whaley. Alfred looked so depressed he almost didn't want to swim up and give the bad news. But he had too; Matthew always did what he was told.

"Hey Mattie," Alfred said, his voice a painful monotone. He didn't even turn to look at his brother.

"Al," Matthew swam over to Alfred, looking at him with sympathetic eyes, "You let him go?"

Alfred nodded, "Yes."

"But I thought…you love him don't you? Why didn't-?"

"He wasn't happy, Matthew. I…I thought he could see how much I cared but it didn't matter. He didn't even like the treasure after a while."

"Of course he wasn't, Alfred, you held him captive, destroyed his ship, anyone would hate that," Matthew patted his brother's shoulder then looked at him contemplatively, "Why did you keep him there anyway?"

Alfred shook his head, "Can't tell, I made a promise not to. But you know…I kinda just wished that I could make him smile, just once. Not because he was drunk or anything or was planning to scare me shitless," Alfred gave a sad chuckle, "I just wanted him to smile because of _me_. It was useless though. You didn't see him, Matthew. You didn't see him break. His eyes looked," he swallowed, "dead. Then one day I heard him sing…and I…I…"

Matthew gasped, "Oh no, Al. You didn't…"

"I-I didn't do anything too bad. It was just a kiss. I kissed him, I couldn't help it. But when I saw the look in his eyes," a sigh, "I didn't feel like the hero at all. And when I came back he was crying, Mattie. I made him _cry_. And he begged me to let him go."

"And you let him?"

Alfred was silent and stopped petting the whale. Whaley looked up at him with concerned eyes, "He's happy now, he'll never see me again." The merman looked so defeated that Matthew couldn't help but to reach and give him a hug.

"I'm sorry, Al," Matthew whispered into his shoulder.

"Mattie," Alfred closed his eyes and let his head rest on Matthew's hair, "I won't see him again, right? You're here cause of dad," there wasn't a question in his voice, it was a statement.

The other merman stiffened then tightened his hold on Alfred, "Yes."

There was a sigh of resignation, "I'll go," Alfred's hand that was stroking the whale dropped to his side, "Goodbye, Whaley."

Said creature could only give a small wail as his friend swam off with the soft spoken merman.

* * *

><p>The ship already knew how to make its way to the docks, even laying down the plank for walking onto the dock. A few people looked in wonder at the large ship manned by no one and the lone captain who stepped out, head held high. But, as it turned out, most were too busy with their own matters and the rumors of a pirate ship commandeered by a lone captain quickly died among the hubbub.<p>

The captain in question was having a glorious time, taking a deep breath of the odor that could only be produced by a mass of humans, a bunch he found himself quite missing over the past month. Freedom was truly sweet and for Arthur (at that moment) it meant feeling like he owned the port town.

Like any person who knew what they were doing he paid the docking fee with a hefty sum of gold laying down the right layers of threats and buttering up to ensure the safety of his vessel. He then continued on to the bustling port city, enjoying the crowd, though feeling a bit naked with the absence of a crew flanking him by his sides and keeping any persons of suspicion away. It irked him that he would have to gather a new crew from basically nothing, a rather taxing task.

The _Dragon's Egg_ pub seemed like the best choice to get his errands done, rowdy and crowded; the perfect place to start searching and to his rum quota. With the ease of a pirate he walked in and doged flying bottles and men to sit at an empty table. The server came by he didn't bother to look up, "A pint of rum," he ordered.

"Arthur? C-Captain Arthur?"

"Yes-," Arthur looked up and was shocked to see Toris standing there, dressed as a server boy. "Toris!" the captain jumped up and gave a quick hug to the stunned young man.

"H-how did you? I mean, how are you alive?" Toris sputtered like old times sake.

Arthur smiled and waved to the chair, "Sit down, it's a long story."

Toris looked around cautiously for a moment, "I guess I could take a small break."

Smiling, Arthur nodded, knowing the lad he probably deserved one. He took a deep breath and began, "I suppose you remember Alfred?"

Arthur went on to describe his confinement in the cave, leaving out a few choice details but even with the slight censorship Toris listened attentively, eyes widening impossibly and jaw dropping at the appropriate times.

"And he let you go, just like that?" he asked when Arthur finished, "With a ship and all that treasure?"

Arthur shifted in his seat, "Yes. I don't quite know why but you never really can know with that merman. Ever since he released me I haven't seen him though, can't really complain," he almost stumbled over the words for some reason, "So how did _you_ survive the storm? What about the rest of the crew?"

"Well, when the ship fell I was, like everyone else, thrown into the deep water. I thought I was going to drown but somehow…I was able to find my way to the surface of the water. Everyone else as well, even the men who couldn't swim somehow made it. The rescue boats somehow survived as well and I was able to get onto one. Actually, everyone was able to get to a boat (except for you) and survived. Then storm died down as quickly as it started and we floated on the sea for no more than half a day when a ship came by and picked us up," Toris grimaced, "A British Royal Navy ship. We were locked up immediately and we stayed there for a few days as they traveled to port to hang us. Then one day we heard a voice shouting from off the ship, almost familiar to my ears. There were laughs from above and then this dull thump. Everything was quiet when suddenly the doors unlocked and we walked out."

"Unlocked? By themselves?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

Toris nodded, "We didn't know what to think. But that wasn't all; we went up to the upper deck to find the entire crew of the British Navy to be knocked out cold. We were able to then throw them into the brig and take over the ship."

Arthur's eyes widened, "That is something. But then, why are you here?"

"For a few days we sailed, first dropping off the navy men on a deserted island. We planned to continue pirating but soon it became apparent that it just wasn't the same…not without you," Toris blushed and so did Arthur and the two men sat there for a moment in an awkward silence.

"T-thank you, I suppose," Arthur muttered.

Toris coughed, "We sailed back to port, sold the ship and agreed to split the money and lay low," Toris spread his hands, "So now, I'm here."

Arthur nodded thoughtfully then smiled at Toris, "I'm glad to know you are all doing okay. So," Arthur clapped his hands together, "What do you think about going back to sea? I've got the ship; all I need is the crew.

"I-I would love to," Toris said with a small smile.

"Good! I don't suppose you know where any of the others are?"

Toris nodded vigorously, "I can contact everyone. The crew will be glad to hear you are alive and well. I'm sure they will be eager to sail with you again."

Arthur stood up, Toris following, "Alright, let's get the band back together."

* * *

><p>Everything progressed smoothly after that. Toris was right, the rest of the crew were very eager to get back together at the prospect of sailing again with their thought-to-be-dead-captain and the promise of <em>very<em> good pay. They had asked Arthur about his disappearance and Arthur did not tell them the truth (still had to keep his image, thank you). Before long, rumors spread of the great Captain Kirkland who survived the sea for an entire month with little more than a sloop and a glass shard.

Arthur didn't care. He was on the sea again, in the sun with his crew. Everything was so refreshing, shouting orders, the fresh air, the regained feeling of control, and the change in food. Not even the apprehensions from the past few days bothered him. He was so happy the crew was apprehensive with how freely he gave his smiles and the spring in his step.

That was the first day.

The next day Arthur found it all just as refreshing, the wind, the rocking of the sea, the crew. But something was…off. Something about the sea was too empty. The sky too clear. But he easily shook it off, just as easily as he ignored the shell in his pocket.

Then came the third day. The discomfort from the day before returned except now with a new intensity. The excitement brought by the salty wind, the very act of sailing, seemed to dull. He kept glancing at the sea, searching, searching…searching…Alfred, where the hell was he? Somehow he was the reason. Damn! Even free he still was wrapped around that boy's finger. If only he would show up so he could shoot him, once and for all. But still, nothing.

Arthur didn't get sleep that night and by the next day he was pacing around, rubbing the sea shell in between his fingers with a crazed fervor. He ignored everyone else, even the worried Toris. Everything but his sudden want for Alfred was put to the back of his mind, he couldn't enjoy _anything_.

Slowly his anger toward Alfred faded replaced with something far more painful. The tugging to his heart grew and his thoughts were drawn not to the annoying, obnoxious qualities of the merman. No, rather he came to accept them, or he did a very long time ago. Now he thought of his smooth voice, his kind hands, his laugh when it wasn't tainted by his ego. Arthur maybe…missed him. But that was impossible, Alfred kidnapped him there was no possible way he was developing _feelings_.

Arthur shook his head. Feelings or not Alfred could at least _visit_ him. He had been thinking about it (not all the time, it wasn't like he was a lovesick maiden) but it seemed strange that Alfred hadn't visited him once. The more he thought about it the stranger the idea became and to his horror he started to…worry. Maybe if he saw Francis, or Matthew, even Ivan dear he say, he could get some answers. Wait, didn't Matthew say there was something he could do…the sea witch and a flower.

_If you are in desperate need of help throw a flower into the water and ask for the sea witch Eliza but only do so as a last resort, all sea witches ask for payment._

Wasting no time he ran to the storage room. He knew what all the treasures were; he knew them by heart. He burst into the room, not caring what he stepped on, looking for something not made of gold or jewels, but leather. Finally he spotted it, the familiar leather bound book amongst the piles of gold. His hands opened the book then pulled out what he was looking for, a dried, pressed rose. Holding it delicately he ran out to the poop deck.

"All hands, go to the lower decks!" he called, "Rest, eat, do whatever you like but stay below deck!"

All of the men stopped what they were doing and ran to do what they were told, eager to get a good night's sleep. Toris was the only one who walked up to Arthur, question in his eyes, "Captain Arthur? Is there something wrong?"

Arthur waved him off, "No Toris, I just need some time alone."

Toris gave one last worried glance then slowly walked away. When he disappeared below Arthur quickly looked around to make sure there were no stragglers then walked to the edge of the ship. He let the flower drop into the water.

"Um, sea witch Eliza!" he mumbled with uncertainty, "Please come to my…aid?" this was so much more stupid looking in real life than in his mind. Really what was he doing?

He took a deep breath to call the crew back outside when he promptly choked on air as a pale hand reached from the depths of the blue waters and grabbed the rose. As Arthur recovered his lost air he watched as a head followed the arm. A pale brown haired woman with green eyes and a flower in her hair looked up at him, "Hello Arthur," she said, Arthur could hear the mischievousness in her voice, "You called?"

"Y-yes," Arthur said shakily then cleared his throat, "You must be Eliza."

She gave a small bow of her head, "Also known as Eliza the Sea Witch, yes. Now before you say anything I must say that I can provide you everything you so wish and need, information and more. But I require a price, a hefty one but you must agree to it beforehand or I shall leave you to your…musings."

"W-what? You can't just demand I pay before I get any goods!"

Her green eyes seemed to glow dangerously, "A promise from a sea witch is much more valuable than that of a human or merman. If you agree I will give you something in return, something with equal and true value. It is up to you to decide whether or not you think that Alfred is worth it."

Arthur grit his teeth, "What is the price?"

"I cannot say."

"Of course not," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Well? Do you want what I offer?"

_You haven't even said what you offer_, Arthur thought angrily but he was too desperate (no not desperate) to care at this point, "Fine. Give it to me, witch."

Eliza smiled, "Gladly. The first thing I give you is answers. You have been chewing on many questions for the past few months. Go ahead, ask."

Arthur threw his hands up in the air in exasperation, "Oh I don't know! Why did he keep me there in that damn cave? Why did he let me go? Why is he _still_ gone?"

"For your fist question the answer is quite sweet. You see that day when he saved you, you know what I am speaking of, he became quite attached to you. He did not see you again for a long while though until he saw you later as captain of the Black Britannia. Then, as he watched you from the waters as you conquered pirates and the Navy, his feelings of adoration grew into love," she gave a sickening (in Arthur's mind) sigh, "But he did not know what to do to woo you so he sought help, from me."

Arthur was blushing at the thought that the merman had fallen in love with him, really the daft creature… "From you?"

"Yes," she smiled up at him, "He was so adorable too. I told him that if he wanted any chance with you he would have to have legs and some…alone time."

"Wait, are you telling me he took me into that cave…because of _you_?"

Eliza shrugged her shoulders, "Not exactly. I only gave him some pills that allow humans to last long in deep water. He was the one who took my advice a bit differently than I imagined. The reason he didn't tell you in the first place was because as payment he had to promise to not tell anyone about anything. And as part of the payment was the promise that this relationship he was pursuing had to succeed and I could…observe."

Arthur's cheeks were flushed with color, "He got his legs for a promise and that you could o-observe us? And what's this about a relationship?"

The sea witch's smile grew, "Oh it was a nice payment but a weak one. As consequence he could have legs but only for a set amount of time, half a day or a day at most. That's one of the reasons why he could not stay with you for long along with the ship building. Oh and you like the ship? He was going to show it to you personally and give it as a gift."

"Well then why didn't he? Why did he let me go, in a ship no less?" Arthur said as he massaged his forehead that was starting to pound, "Didn't he promise to make me l-love him or something?"

For the first time Eliza's smile faded to a frown, "Yes, he was supposed to pursue a relationship but he…gave up. I can only guess that he saw your unhappiness and sacrificed his own for your sake. And the ship, well, I think he finally realized that he couldn't win you over with treasures and ships," she gave a small smile, "He really does love you."

Arthur could only blush and sputter, "Humph, well it's just like that idiot to give up and leave me forever. Some love that is."

Eliza's face darkened again, "You don't understand, you have to know his family. Alfred is the son of the Ruler of the Sea, a powerful merman who is the strongest with his raw strength and magical ability, something granted by the royal scepter. He is an arrogant person who does not care who he beds with or the lives he destroys. Alfred's mother was one of his victims, a sickly mermaid who died when she found out that her husband had bedded with another while he was married to her. This other woman gave birth to the merman you know as Matthew."

"I thought they were twins!" Arthur said unbelievingly.

"They may say that but they are half-brothers, born on different dates and in different places. Alfred cannot bring himself to hate Matthew or Matthew's mother but he loathes his father. He was attached to his mother and was devastated at her death and blames him for her death. But revenge for is mother is useless against the King so he does his best to keep away from the capital. However, as much as he hates royalty and would have nothing to do with it, he is the next in line to the throne and his father is possessive of him. At the news that his son fell in love with a human and a _man_ at that, he is unhappy with his son."

"So he's…?"

She was quiet for a moment before she answered, "Being punished and willingly I'm afraid to say. He has accepted his right to the throne and sits at the right hand of the Ruler of the Sea now. His father naturally does not allow him to see you."

"B-but, that's not fair he doesn't want to be the Ruler does he? Is he physically getting hurt?"

Eliza nodded, "The rules of royalty for merfolk are much like that of human royalty, it is without feeling or emotion, only rules and rights. Alfred does not want to be Ruler nor does he want to be in the company of the man he hates so dearly. His punishment also entails him getting whipped at noon time for the next hundred years."

Arthur looked at her with disbelief, "What is that idiot doing? Someone should do something! Snap him out of it!"

"No one is willing to face the Ruler of the Seas himself. Unless…."

"Unless what?"

The chilling smile returned, "Unless you wish to go to him and break him from his binds."

"M-me but-but-,"

"You have wanted to see him for a good while now no? And he needs your help; the chains that bind him are invisible but strong, too strong for Alfred's spirit as it is. Do not deny it, you lov-,"

"NO! No, no, no! I need to go rescue him but I will not do so because I l-lov-like that git!"

"So it's settled! You are going to Alfred," she smiled.

Arthur blushed, "Y-you sucked me into this!"

Eliza shrugged it off, "If you say so. To save him you must be able to breathe underwater and have a much stronger magic done to you than Alfred; the trip to the City is a very long one; you'll need at least twenty-four hours," her smile faded, "The price is already set and will cost you much and it will be paid as soon as you are granted your wish."

"What wish? I never wished for anything!" Arthur said angrily.

"Yes you did, I can hear it echoing in the depths of your soul. You wish to be able to stay with him forever, I'll make it possible."

Arthur looked at her, utterly speechless. Eliza took the moment to speak up, "Your wish will be granted the moment you touch water and your payment taken. A friend of Alfred will be waiting to lead you to him. Oh and you will most likely not come back so I would tell someone to take care of your ship and treasure," she slowly sank back into the water, "Búcsú Captain Arthur, I wish you good luck in your journey."

She disappeared then, taking with her the rose. Arthur turned around and shouted, "Toris!" as he slowly stripped of his coat and shirt and weapons.

Toris hurriedly ran up to the deck then covered his eyes as he saw his captain there stripping, "Oh, I'm sorry Captain!"

"No matter, Toris. Come here."

Bashfully, Toris walked over to his Captain, averting his eyes, "Y-yes C-captain."

"Here, take my effects," Arthur handed over his clothes and weapons, "You're captain now."

"W-WHAT?" Toris yelled.

Arthur, unaffected by Toris' outburst took his hat and placed it on the young man's head, "You heard me. I'm going to get some business over with now. Take care of the ship for me will you? If I don't come back, well, I'm sure you'll be a great captain."

"B-but Captain-!"

"I'm not Captain; you can call me Arthur now, Toris. Now excuse me, I'm going on a little swim," before Toris could get in a word (perhaps mentioning that he could not even doggy paddle) Arthur shed his pants and jumped into the water.

**AN: Haha, Toris is forever scared now. **

**Can anyone guess the "friend" that is waiting for Arthur? You get honorable mentions if you do on the next chapter. **

**Only two more chapters to go (unless you guys want an extra, but we can worry later).**

**I hope you enjoyed it I was going to turn this in tomorrow but dang it, you guys are just too nice! 15 reviews! That's amazing! I know I've said this before but those are the reason I get these updates so quickly, that and it's typed already. Please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

***Warning descriptions of torture (whipping) and an f-bomb or two***

When Arthur's body met the water Arthur could feel something being ripped from him and his legs beginning tingle awkwardly. But these feelings were put on hold when the old panic from drowning returned and he felt the start of the panic attack.

_Breathe. Breathe. She pretty much said you can breathe underwater, now __**breathe**__._

He struggled for a moment but eventually overcame his reflex to shut his mouth and took a deep breath of water. There was a strange sensation as the water passed from his mouth, down his throat, and through slits that were definitely not there before. Immediately his heart calmed and took another breath in. He opened his eyes (that were not stinging by the way) and looked into the water that were so much more clear.

_Wait_, panic seized him for a moment, much like a punch to the gut, _what…what was the price_? He quickly ran his hands over his face and arms, eyes frantically scanning his body. Nothing was missing.

He looked down to his lower half to see that what the sea witch had kept her promise. A long emerald-green tail extended from his torso, scales gleaming from the sunlight. Tentatively he tried moving it-no-his tail-and succeeded in making it jerk. The feeling was indescribable, much like moving a hand except more…flexible. Arthur tried it again and this time it was less of a jerk and little more of a slither.

Arthur repeated the movement until he had more control of his tail and tried to swim deeper. The effect was much like a toddler trying to walk for the first time and Arthur again cursed himself for not learning to swim beforehand. He twisted around awkwardly as he searched for Alfred's friend whom the sea witch had spoken of. _Please don't be Ivan, please don't be Ivan_, he repeated in his head, _please be Matthew, even Francis, just not Ivan_. But there were no sirens or fish, only an empty expanse and the barnacle caked bottom of _Phantom's Bane_.

_Strange._ Arthur contemplated calling out when he heard it, an ominous wail unlike anything he had ever heard. He clumsily swam under the barnacle encrusted in the direction of the sound. There it was: a growing black shadow. Arthur squinted his eyes to make it out and the black mass only became unbelievably bigger and lightening from black to a dark blue. He couldn't believe it, there was a _fucking_ _whale_ swimming right for him.

_Good God_, he thought, trying to move his tail so that he could swim away, the whale was coming straight at him unbelievably fast. But he couldn't get very far as unaccustomed to his lower half as he was and he could only anxiously glance behind him as the gigantic animal surged closer. The whale flew under the ship, only meters away. Arthur closed his eyes and put up his hands to shield himself from impact then-

Nothing.

Arthur felt a rush of water to the right of him but felt no collision Cautiously, he lowered his arms and turned. The whale was there, slowing down and turning to face him with another sad moan. Could it be…the whale was the so called friend? The whale slowly drifted over to Arthur and he tried not to instinctively move, intimidated by the sheer size of the thing. The mammal slid past him, an unspoken request to grab on. Warily, the man-now merman-grabbed onto the whale's flipper, almost fumbling from the smooth skin.

The whale gave a sort of happy sound and started to swim, much faster that Arthur could have ever tried to swim. He gripped the whale's flipper more tightly and realeased a hesitant breath (could he call it that underwater?). The situation almost overwhelmed him. How could this be happening, the great Arthur Kirkland swimming with a whale to an underwater city? Honestly, how could Alfred befriend a whale? The thought of it brought a smile to Arthur's face. Only him…

* * *

><p>The waters were unusually dark in the throne room. There was a heavy, almost mournful air that morphed the beautiful hall into a grand mausoleum, thick with cursed souls. The happy scene depicted on mosaic covering the floor now seemed sick and twisted and the joyful faces took on a darker meaning. And to complete the picture, or the reason for the sorrow, were the two deep shadows hanging over the faces of the sole occupants of the room.<p>

_La di da di da di da~  
>La di da~<br>La di da~_

Again and again the melody repeated. It echoed with a false happiness that made the song all the more haunting. On and on-

_La di da~ la di d-_

"Stop," The command rung out strong and deep,.

There were a few moments of silence.

Then the humming started, the same tune and tone. A growl went out throughout the room, turning into a rumble that shook the foundations. "Are you set on annoying me, boy?"

"No, _Dad_. I would never dream of it," responded an emotionless voice.

There was a low, deadly hum when a large object slammed right above the blonde's head, sounding across the room. Alfred did not as much as blink, staring ahead with an emotionless expression. The King gave a huff and pulled back his spear, an object over twenty feet long and glistening black obsidian. He wielded it like it was a mere toy, a strength that matched his impressive height.

"Now that I think about it, it is about time to get your punishment for today." The King gave the floor two sharp raps. Alfred's face gave away a pained frown at the sound that quickly disappeared. The doors opened to admit three mermen, one which held a long black, leather whip.

Alfred didn't struggle as invisible chains threw him from his seat to the middle of the room, facing the throne. _So he can see my face_, thought Alfred grimly, _the sadist_. Two of the mermen restrained his arms if he struggled.

He took in a deep breath, feeling his father's magic healing the wounds from yesterday. A small mercy. Yet, somehow Alfred wasn't thankful; it was just to make sure he wouldn't die. The first of fifty would come soon and Alfred breathed out so he would not have any air to scream with.

He wasn't disappointed. The familiar searing pain and burn of salt was slapped onto his back. Red dissipated into the surrounding waters, swirling into artistic curls. He took in an unsteady breath and lifted his head to stare into the King's black eyes. Let him see what a big man he is, whipping his own child.

The King stared right back at Alfred, just as stubborn. No doubt he had more to say but he didn't speak while anyone was being tortured. He always waited for them to finish, Alfred guessed it was because that was when his victim was at his weakest. Or maybe he just didn't want to speak over the screaming and the snaps of the rope.

Another lash, thirty five if Alfred counted correctly. The pain didn't subside and his stomach twisted with nausea. Funny how the whole body decided to rebel when just one area was in pain. He repressed the urge to vomit, instead counting each mind-numbing lash.

Alfred's thoughts eventually wandered from the monotonous counting to bright green eyes, messy hair, and rare soft smiles upon even softer lips. He was not dreaming, as much as unconsciousness was appealing, but more like a mix of daydreaming and remembrance. But even the happiness of dreams and memories darkened with sad faces and tears and screams of "_Let me go!_" Pain, as bad as the current whipping, returned. A masochistic thought went through him for a moment. He _deserved_punishment for making Arthur cry and beg. What was he thinking? He didn't deserve love. He deserved ten times what he had done to Arthur.

An eon later the pain ends at fifty exactly. The King waved dismissively and the two mermen released Alfred's wrists and swam out of the room, followed by the merman with the whip.  
>A low voice spoke up, "You know why you are being punished, Alfred," it was not a question.<p>

Alfred willed himself not to croak, "Yes."

"Tell me why."

Alfred rolled his shoulders, setting off a bolt of pain. Instead of grimacing however, Alfred was all smiles, "I'm being punished…Heh, I'm being punished because I loved a human. I cared deeply for a male human instead of a mermaid. I was a damned idiot because I chose to love someone with all my heart instead of fucking around with all the mermaids I could get my hands on."

The invisible chains around his hands were suddenly apart harshly. His arms felt like they would be pulled out of their sockets, his chest tightened and his wounds were stretched even further open. Even so he ignored the pain and smiled up at his father, "I'm sorry, Daddy, for not following your example."

Hard obsidian smacked into Alfred's head and his thoughts were thrown into disarray. A large hand grasped his chin and forced Alfred to look into the King's face, "I will be having none of that from you. What I have done is _nothing_compared to the debauchery you have committed. Humans, Alfred? You might as well mate a fish than love one of those ugly little things. They are food, nothing more. And to top it off you had to fall in love with a male one," the King gave a face of disgust, "You do not deserve the title of merman anymore, much less Prince."

Alfred glowered at him, "He's more than any fish or merman, including you."

The King gave him a violent shake, "That human should be dead! I swear the next time I feel so much as one of his damned toes in the water I will squeeze the air from his lungs and replace it with ice."

"You promised! No harm comes to him!"

"Do you know who I am, boy? I am the Ruler of the Seas and nothing will stop me from drowning that human, not you or that promise if you do not _shut your damn mouth_!"

Alfred's blue eyes glared burningly back at his father but his mouth remained shut, "Good. Now sit down." The merman did not swim to his seat next to the king, doing more along the lines of letting him get dragged to the chair by his chains.

As his father grilled him on what it meant to be a ruler and how he would be one after his punishment was over, Alfred's thoughts drifted back to that dream-state, back to a certain captain.

_Green eyes, chess sets, blonde hair, warm kiss, blushing cheeks, brokenness, curiosity, torn shirts._

Over and over.

_Silly words, dead fish, golden coins, fire eyes, green shell, Arthur, Arthur, Arthur…_

* * *

><p>Arthur could tell the city was looming by the sudden shine in the waters ahead.<p>

Hope rose in his chest; he had been hanging onto the whale for well over a day with no food or water (though he was never truly thirsty) and was beginning to think that the city was on the other side of the ocean. The whale was sure acting excited, well, as much as a whale could look excited. As the captain looked over the mammal he slowly began to see what was so "Great" about the Great City. _This must be what Atlantis looks like_, he thought, his eyes widening. Even from this distance the city glistened with the same luminescence of the insides of shells and pearls. One building in particular stood out from all the rest, dome-shaped and looking like it was made of the biggest pearl in existence. Most likely the palace, Arthur thought, where Alfred will be.

It became apparent, the closer Arthur came to the city, the more merfolk the whale passed. If not for the situation he might have been more mesmerized by the rainbow-like assortment of fish-tailed people. They were beautiful, some even singing but no tail could really compare to a certain blue hued one, or voice have the same alluring affect. Arthur quickly mentally slapped himself for the comparison.

The merfolk generally ignored the sight of an unfamiliar merman riding a whale. A few stared, some children even followed them for a while but all eventually turned back to their lives, not feeling any kind of threat or entertainment. The whale swam over the city, seeing as how there was not enough room in the streets for such a large creature. The dome-shaped palace came closer and closer and while the strange buildings sprawled out below Arthur, his eyes were only focused on the structure in front of him. His grip on the whale's skin strengthened and he fought to keep his breaths and heart from becoming too excited. Just a little further…

The merfolk were starting to notice something was up.

"-Prince Alfred's whale?"

"Who is-?"

"-isn't allowed-,"

Arthur could only hear snatches of what they were saying until one voice rose above strong and clear, "STOP!" Arthur turned his head to see a merman in silver armor, with an aura of authority and irritation. Arthur cursed, he couldn't stop now! The whale seemed to feel conflicted with both of the mermen, one urging him to stop the other silently urging him on. Confused, the mammal slowed down but did not stop.

The merman swam forward, "What are you doing here so close to the palace, commoner?"

Arthur opened his mouth to answer when he was interrupted by another voice, "Arthur? Is that you?"

The two turned to see a blonde-haired and violet-tailed merman, "Prince Matthew!" the guard bowed quickly, "I was just arresting this commoner for trespassing."

Matthew shook his head, "No, he's okay; I know him. Please, return to your duties."

Flustered, the guard saluted then swam away. Matthew then faced Arthur, "How? Wait…the sea witch. Damn, then there's no time to talk, follow me."

Arthur wasn't even able to speak a word before Matthew grabbed him by the arm and pulled him toward the palace, "Stay, Whaley!" the usually quiet merman called back. _Must be like this when he's distressed_, Arthur mused. He really couldn't get a word out with how fast Matthew was swimming. Arthur had a hard time just trying to keep up with his mediocre swimming skills.

"Alfred's practically being held hostage. You can't see it but there are magical binds around him, keeping him restrained."

Arthur nodded, too occupied to answer. The doors to the palace swung open for the two and they dove in. A vast array of treasures and wonders lay around him but Arthur had no time for sightseeing. "Almost…there," Matthew muttered through grit teeth.

Arthur bit his tongue. Adrenaline was coursing through him. Why exactly was he here again? "There!" Matthew pointed to two gigantic doors, "Now we can't go in yet, we'll have to-Wait! Arthur!"

Normally the captain wasn't the run-in-without-thinking-kind of man (merman now) but today he made an exception. He burst through the doors, swimming into the room regardless of its occupancy.

He was greeted by the sight of a long hall with a high, rounded ceiling. At the back of the hall was a massive throne filled with a giant. Arthur might have thought it was a trick of the water if not for the smaller throne beside it. The moment he spotted the figure sitting there Arthur's eyes saw nothing else. An emotionless (though now slightly surprised) face looked back at him from across the room, so achingly familiar but so wrong at the same time. Arthur could see even from there red lines extending from his back.

Arthur swam the fasted he had ever swum in his life. He could only think of yelling one word-

_ALFRED!_

No sound came out.

**AN: Oh you guys are gonna hate me until I update aren't ya? XD I will try to get the next one in before Friday but there's no guarantee seeing as school is starting tomorrow. In other bad news, only one more chapter after this. **

**And the friend was Whaley! People who guessed it on ONE try were LadyOfTheBlackWater, Commodore Crumet and animime Congrats! I'm so sorry if I didn't put your username if you got it, I just had so much stuff to sort through.**

**No one got the price for being a Siren haha. I guess no one thought I'd go the cliché way and have Eliza take his voice.**

**OMG thank you ALL for the reviews. I can't BELIEVE how many people responded to the last chapter. COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! I think I responded to y'alls reviews but if I missed you just know that you are an awesome person and I am a pathetic creature that doesn't do the smart thing and start with the first review and goes to the last one. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I know I say it all the time but it does help (: It also helps that I have some incredibly awesome reviewers (who am I kidding you are all awesome). And if you don't review it's okay you're just like me, too busy or it's too hard cause you're reading off your smartphone. **


	15. Chapter 15

_Alfred! Alfred! Why-why can't I hear anything? My voice-_Arthur's hands flew up to his throat, his mouth mouthed the words but nothing came out. Then it dawned on him. The price. His voice had been the price.

"Arthur! Y-you're a merman? Wait. You can't speak," Alfred's face fell, "No, Arthur, you didn't!" the merman visibly struggled, "Get out of here!"

Arthur promptly did the opposite, and taking his hands off his neck and swam toward Alfred. The King looked at the newcomer with a mix of shock and disgust, "Aren't you that pirate? Wait, Eliza! That damn sea witch meddling where she doesn't belong! You, pirate, who do you think you are, swimming into my relm?"

Arthur didn't even acknowledge his presence and swam up to Alfred, the King's face lit up with fury. Arthur reached for Alfred's wrists his fingers hit something before they touched skin. He wrapped his hands the best he could around the invisible chains and pulled.

Alfred looked on in dismay, "Arthur what are you doing? Get out of here! Damn it, Artie, listen to me!" he pulled at his chains, desperate to push him away.

_Now you call me that_, he wanted to mutter but all he could do was mouth out curse words. Arthur was doing nothing to the chains, despite using all of his strength. Didn't the sea witch say he could break Alfred out?

Meanwhile, the King looked down at the scene, fury building in his black eyes, "I will not have such filth swimming in my waters." He raised the razor sharp spear.

Looking up, Alfred wrestled with his chains, "Artie, look out! Get away!"

One moment Arthur was pulling at the chains, the next he was torn away by a torrential current.  
>Dazed, Arthur tried to find which way was up. When he finally got his bearings he looked up to see the Ruler of the Sea staring down at him, black spear ready to strike.<p>

"NO!"

The pain was not instantaneous. At first he wondered if the spear really did hit him. He looked down and there was the rod, impaled all the way through his stomach. The sight of it brought the pain. Pure agony. Arthur didn't feel or notice it being pulled out, the barbed spear head getting stuck a little bit on the other side of his body. Alfred was screaming something. Down he went, all the air leaving his body, dragging him to the bottom. When he hit it, ever so softly, his head rolled to the side and he could see Alfred screaming, jerking his body from the bonds so violently that it was a wonder he didn't rip his arms off.

A small part of his mind was slowly learning to think past the pain and it heard the words throatily yelled at him, "Why? Why did you come back? Arthur! Artie! _Why_?"

Oh that small part of his mind had a lot of answers to that question; I wanted to beat you black and blue myself, some stupid sea witch bewitched me, I was just passing by, I'm drunk. All untrue.

Or maybe he could go with I missed your smile, nothing is the same without you, I wanted to tell you that I don't want to tear my ears out when you actually sing, you gave me the best damn snog in my life and can't expect me to just leave it at that, you don't deserve this, Whaley misses you. All true.

But for some reason he couldn't mouth any of that, much less say it. For some reason he mouthed the three sappiest words to ever come from his mouth.

_I love you_.

Comprehension dawned Alfred's face and he stopped struggling. He saw the red plumes billow from his body and watched as his eyes closed. "Arthur?" he whispered.

No response came, no movement. Just silence.

It was broken by the Kings rumbling voice, "I hope you see now why you must follow my orders, Alfred. Besides, the merman you see now is still a lesser creature, only made by twisted magic, and unfit for these halls."

"Yes," the King turned his head to see Alfred's head bent down, his face hidden.

"You know…what I think?" Alfred's voice sounded forced, "I think the only lesser creature in this room is you," there was a crack. The marble armrest under the merman's grip had spider web cracks. "You do not deserve your throne. You do not deserve to be my father. And you know what?" There was an even louder crack from the binds and Alfred threw up his hands then slammed them back down. He turned his hard blue eyes to his father with utter hatred and fury, "I'm ready for my crown now."

* * *

><p>Arthur felt cool hands on him, light and spreading a soothing iciness to his wounds. His eyelids squinted as he tried to open them but a voice stopped him, "No, keep them closed; Al's finally fighting back."<p>

_Matthew!_

"I'm closing your wounds and repairing some of the damaged organs, you should be fine. Alfred just broke his chains, knew he could."

Arthur furtively cracked an eyelid and tried to see through his eyelashes. Matthew was nowhere to be seen but Arthur could see Alfred and the King in their respective chairs speaking heatedly to each other. By the tone of the conversation it was about to turn violent.

Alfred pushed away from his chair, clenching his fists, "Don't you dare!" the King roared, "If you raise just one hand against me I will not hesitate to kill you like that Arthur boy."

"Don't say his name!" Alfred lunged. The King swung the spear and a wave of orange fire overwhelmed Alfred.

Arthur's eyes flew open and he sat up, ignoring the twinge of pain. _Alfred!_He mouthed. The King showed no such care, "Know your place. Last time I checked you know nothing of magic. Your strength will get you nowhere with me!"

The fire raged around the spot where Alfred was, a great burning mass. Then suddenly Arthur began to see a figure making its way to Alfred, slowly materializing. A different kind of fire burned in Matthew's indigo eyes, "You can forget about the magic part," he said in the harshest tone Arthur heard from his mouth. His arm made a motion over the unrelenting fire and tendrils of the flames made its way to Matthew, traveling around his tail and into his palm.

Slowly the fire dissipated from Alfred, who Arthur noticed was unscathed, and gathered into a sphere in his brother's hands. When all the fire was there Matthew then clenched his hand into a fist, snuffing it out. The King looked disdainfully between the two brothers, "I expected this from Alfred but not from you Matthew. You may leave now."

Matthew made no move. The King's frown only deepened, "Fine." A blast of fire, ten times more powerful than the last, erupted from the spear. Unafraid, Matthew put himself in front of Alfred and he whipped his tail, sending out a wall of ice and snow. The two elements hit in an explosion and trillions of bubbles expelled, obscuring everything from sight like a wall of steam. "Go!" Matthew yelled and Alfred swam straight through it to the King on the other side. Arthur couldn't see him for a few minutes but could hear the dull thumps and smacks as the two mermen fought. The bubbles dispersed and he could see the punches being thrown from both sides and their powerful tails would slam into each other. Even from that distance Arthur could see how their teeth were elongated, now they looked more like fighting sharks than serenading mermen.

Alfred seemed to have the upper hand strength wise, impressive considering the King's size but it became apparent that his lack of a weapon was going to lead to his loss. For every punch or slap that he got in the King got in two or three hits with his giant spear. Arthur really didn't know how Alfred had so much endurance for pain, he was surprised he was still standing/swimming after all the bruises and cuts he had earned. The ugly wounds on his back were enough to knock the average person unconscious. It was absolute torture to Matthew, who wanted to help with his magic but could only watch as he couldn't use it without the possibility of hitting Alfred.

Suddenly that all didn't matter and the King had Alfred pinned to the wall, the blade of the spear across his throat. "Time to finally get rid of my worthless son," he growled.

Then Alfred grabbed the obsidian scepter.

BOOM!

Arthur closed his ears and eyes. Matthew gasped. The King was blown back, his hands empty. Opening his eyes, Arthur saw Alfred swimming there, looking at the spear with shock. Before he could ask, Matthew answered for him, "The scepter…has chosen a different master. Alfred is the Ruler of the Seas."

The former King's face was the epitome of despair and he watched his figure wither, shrinking and wrinkling until he was no more than a small old merman.

Alfred, however, grew. His muscles became more pronounced, his face smoothing and perfecting until it was god-like. A grin grew on his face as he looked at his arms and flexed the muscles in them.

Matthew was the first to frown.

Arthur looked up at Alfred in amazement. The merman was truly was a sight as all his flaws faded from existence. Power and magic radiated from him, a true Ruler.

"Wow," Alfred breathed, a gust to the others in the room, "This power…is awesome!"

Then Arthur frowned.

With a chuckle, the new King twirled the obsidian rod and a ring of fire circled him, the heat so intense Arthur could feel the warmth from his place on the bottom floor, "I-I could get used to this."

Cautiously Matthew swam forward, "Um, Al, remember what you said-,"

"Yes, yes, I know. But why give up this gift when I can do this?" he gave a powerful stroke with is new giant tail and the very current sent his father tumbling towards the doors.

Matthew's eyes widened at the uncharacteristic act, "Alfred, I think you should let go of the scepter now."

"No! Why should I?" Alfred said to him in a too loud voice, "Oh, I know. You're jealous. Can't stand that you are always the one overlooked and I can actually pull my weight. Well at least you have a mother! Even if she is a whore for sleeping with a married man."

Arthur was aghast, no, this wasn't Alfred. Alfred wouldn't say that, especially to his brother.

Matthew looked like he would cry, "Alfred," he choked out, "You know I would never-,"

"Shut up!" the King growled, "Know your place, half-brother." He swung the spear and Matthew was suddenly on the ground, gasping as he was crushed by an unknown force. Alfred looked on without mercy, his blue eyes darkening.

_That's it_. Arthur swam for Alfred and grabbed his arm and pulled as hard as he could.

"What, who-," Alfred's other hand whipped around and slammed into Arthur's stomach. The merman was knocked over and he clutched his stomach, clenching his teeth from the pain. Alfred turned and saw him there, "Arthur?" he asked, his face had softened. Alfred returned. Just as quickly that terrible look returned, "No. Arthur is dead. It's just one of Matthew's illusions."

Arthur looked at him in sheer terror. How he wished he could scream _no!_and beg Alfred to come back to reality. But the words were silent and he could only mouth his pleas.

Alfred lifted the spear. Arthur had just seen this; life was just cruel enough to let him see the black weapon a second time with the last person he wanted to see it with. At least he couldn't cry here. Dying with tears on ones face was rather embarrassing. All of his silent words ignored he murmured just one thing, a last resort; _the dock. The dock, Alfred._

Alfred made no move from his position or sign that he acknowledged his silent words. Arthur couldn't talk his way out of this. He was going to die. The former captain took in a deep breath. _Well,_ he thought, _if I'm going to die it might as well be at the hands of the Ruler of the Seas instead of some stray bullet from a drunken sailor. _The throb in his chest thought differently.

A heart beat. Alfred still hadn't moved.

That's when Arthur noticed it, the shaking. Those strong arms trembled so softly it was almost impossible to make out.

Then Alfred exhaled softly, like he had been holding his breath this whole time, "A-Arthur?"

Relief washed over him and Arthur gave a nod. _Yes_.

And it returned, Alfred's real smile, "Thank God you are alive," his face darkened again, this time with horror, "Wait. What-what was I doing?" he looked at the obsidian spear then down and spotted his brother, unmoving on the ground, "Mattie!" he called.

Alfred dropped the spear and swam to his brother, lifting his head up, "Mattie! Are you okay?"

Matthew gave a groan, "Yeah, now let me down you great lug before you break another one of my ribs."

"Glad to hear you're your snappy self again, bro," Alfred smiled sheepishly as he laid his brother back down.

The obsidian spear lay ominously just a few feet away. Alfred fearfully looked at it, he could still feel the effects of it and would continue to feel them until the scepter chose a new king, "I cannot and will not be King," Alfred slowly spoke, "But neither can anyone else. Not even you Matthew."

Matthew gave his own rueful smile, "Yeah, not going to argue there. So what's next?"

"I think it's obvious enough," Alfred grabbed the spear. A dark look flitted across his face and Arthur touched his arm in warning. The darkness passed and Alfred turned to Arthur, giving him an encouraging grin, "Don't worry. I won't do that again. Swim back will you?"

Reluctantly Arthur swam back a few feet, watching Alfred warily. The latter gripped the spear with both hands, "You know. I think I know why I was born so strong," he laughed then took a deep breath. His muscles bulged and his arms tried to bend as he pulled down on both ends. The obsidian screeched unnaturally and the rod curved in a way that was impossible for normal obsidian.

A shrill scream pierced the air and the scepter broke, shattering into a hundred razor sharp shards, "So I can do that," Alfred finished with an exhale. With the breath went all of the perfection and he shrank back to his normal height. He turned to Arthur and opened his mouth to speak, "Arthur-,"

"What did you do?" came a scream from down the hall and they all turned to see the source, "What are you thinking, Alfred?" the old merman croaked.

"Oh you know, rebelling against the crown and all that, Pops," Alfred shrugged.

"But the monarchy? The system of government? The Great City will bring itself to ruin now that it has no one to govern it!"

Alfred shook his head, "Nah, there are other ways. One thing worked out a while in a certain place called a republic and it didn't have a King or nothing."

"But-but-,"

"Get outta here you Old Merman," Alfred made a dismissive motion with his hands, "We don't need your crap anymore."

To Arthur's surprise the merman went quiet and with a rather indignant air he turned and swam out. Of course, he didn't see the last part because he was suddenly tackled by a very enthusiastic blue-tailed merman.

Alfred's strong arms pulled Arthur into a crushing hug and he rambled on in his poor ears, "Oh I can't believe you are alive. And you came back for me! I'm sorry I went ape-shit on you, God, I owe you one for that too. I love you so much you know that? You look stunning as a merman! But your voice...damn, I am going to miss that."

Before he could get anymore out he realized Arthur was pushing him away and that he was probably in pain from his recent injury, "Sorry," he muttered again.

_Slap!_

A green tail met with full force on Alfred's face. Alfred almost doubled over, holding his cheek. Even Matthew flinched. Alfred looked up to see a very-angry-Arthur glaring down at him. Though Arthur knew that Alfred couldn't hear him he then proceeded to go on the longest rant in merman history.

_YOU DAMNED IDIOT! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TROUBLE I HAD TO GO THROUGH BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ARSE?_-fill this in with your imagination-_you God-damned pig!_

Arthur closed his mouth and suddenly the room seemed a lot quieter. Alfred, to his credit, still maintained eye contact and gave a small smile, "Uh, you know, Arthur, you're kinda mute and I can't really read lips that well so I didn't quite catch what you were saying."

Arthur's face went read for a moment then he rolled his eyes and grabbed Alfred's hair, pulling him close. The merman flinched and closed his eyes, waiting for that deserved smack or punch or head-butt. But instead of that, Alfred got a much more unexpected blow: a pair of warm lips on his own.

Alfred's eyes flew open and he saw Arthur, eyes closed, kissing him. Voluntarily. Needless to say, he got over the shock very quickly and dove right in, gently pulling the smaller merman closer to him.

Now while most couples at that stage of the relationship might just go for a gentle, chaste kiss showing their tenderness and compassion for each other, the two decided that passionate and devouring each other's mouths was more appropriate. Arthur didn't complain, nothing could compare, not even their first snog. It was all Alfred, that slightly sweet taste and no overpowering salt anymore. And though his stomach might have hurt a bit he was focused on other things, like how his lower half was wrapping around Alfred and that butterscotch hair was just as soft as he remembered-

"Ehem."

Arthur quickly jerked away and Alfred somewhat reluctantly to look at the merman laying down on the ground looking at them with a raised eyebrow, "You know I was going to ask for a little love for the forgotten, injured brother down here but now I think I'm okay."

Blushing and mortified Arthur mouthed a sorry. Alfred just laughed and blew Matthew a kiss, "For you bro."

Matthew chuckled, "Oh stop it you~."

Arthur flinched a little in surprise when Alfred suddenly nuzzled his nose into Arthur's head, laying a small his hair, "You know, being a King and all was great but I'd much more rather get used to this." He pulled back and smiled. It was filled with imperfection, it was that same smile of that dopey merman who thought that by singing terribly he could ensnare his crush, it was the same smile of the idiot who thought that ghosts really did exist in a piece of wood leaning on the wall.

Yet it was that smile that made Arthur do something he hadn't done in a very long time.

He smiled back.

**AN: You have just read 85 pages of fanficiton (not including ANs). Thanks for taking the time to read all of them and for leaving all of your lovely reviews! **

**EDIT: After much thought (a few years worth) I think that this is a pretty solid ending and I don't think I could finish it up as nicely as I did on this chapter. Sorry if you guys really wanted to see Arthur get his voice back but I think that would be a sequel to this one and I really don't have the time or motivation to write another 85 pager. Thanks again for reading this! **


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